Inner Demons VERSION 1
by Mugen no Ken
Summary: -Digimon Tamers AU- THIS VERSION OF THE STORY IS DISCONTINUED. THE NEW VERSION HAS NOW BEEN LAUNCHED.
1. Final Author's Note

**_NOTICE:_** This was originally put on the last chapter space, but seeing as how I am now updating this story from the ground up, and this particular entry will no longer be updated, it is being moved to the front here so you have immediate knowledge that this story won't be continued here. If you want to read the new version, look at the new "Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons" on my profile page. This old version will otherwise be retained for posterity.

* * *

Greetings, all. Infinity Blade here, though my friends call me Ken.

It sure has been awhile, hasn't it? Nearly two years have passed since I've uploaded the "latest" chapter of Inner Demons, and there's been nary a peep out of me on this site or anywhere regarding my own fanfiction, since.

There's been any variety of things getting in my way. Work, a lot of times. I've also been fairly busy, on the fandom end of things, with some role-play at a Digimon themed game I've been helping run for awhile. I've never forgotten about Inner Demons, but since I uploaded that last chapter, there's been something just not quite right, bugging me, and keeping me from continuing forward.

Actually, if you'll go into my reviews, and check one by BenignUser back in February, you'll get a good feeling of where some of my problems rested. The (very well thought out, I appreicate it!) criticisms expressed in there have actually been bugging me for years. I let the story get ahead of itself; I have word documents several pages long just full of plotlines for this series, and I got to where I was trying to cram them all in and keep every character busy all at once.

To the point where things got rather disjointed, and I lost sight of the main plot.

Eventually, here, I had written myself into a corner. To be honest, nearly two years ago, I had produced a little bit of Chapter 21, but could never get much further than that. Because, by all intents and purposes, I had written myself into something of a corner and couldn't quite get out of it.

As of this writing, I've only just looked at my reviews and story traffic for the first time in almost a year. I really do appreciate that people have continued reading what's here, and am glad that new people have discovered and enjoyed it. That's the best part of writing ANYTHING, to know that even just one person enjoyed what you wrote.

But, again to BenignUser's review, as said... I can't just give up on something that I've spent 4+ years on. So, here and there over this past year, I've actually been piecing my plans together for a re-write. Some things will remain the same, some things might be drastically different. And, hey, maybe even a bit more depraved in some instances. That's always fun, eh?

But the most important part is that I want to make the story more cohesive, coherent, and a bit more streamlined. Not just have random crap pop up for the hell of it. I like to think I've improved a lot as a writer over the years, and particularly in the past couple as various friends of mine have forced me to stretch my writing muscles on a more regular basis.

_"But, hey, didn't you try rewriting that old 'Silver Lining' story once before, only for it to not go anywhere?"_

Yeah, I did. But, eh. That ended up being something of a lost cause, most unfortunately.

ID, though? In terms of fanfic, silly though it may sound to some, ID's my baby. The only thing that killed my momentum were my own errors in plotting, and my immaturity as a writer and person in general.

_"Great. So how long are we gonna have to wait for Impmon to evolve THIS time?"_

Yeah, there's one criticism that was consistent across the board a lot of times, at least. XD

As I said, I realize my plot got disjointed. I lost my focus on Takato's plot at some point, and even I'll admit, even WITH the Tamers anime's casual approach to evolutions, that sort of took too freakin' long.

FOUR YEARS, MAN.

JUST FOR ADULT LEVEL.

Yeah, that was a bit silly.

"_...again, though. You start stuff a lot of times and never finish 'em. This, Silver Lining, Divided Paths, that one Megaman Zero story you only spat out a single chapter of..."_

I've gone into my immaturity back then, obviously. I'm a bit more dedicated, now, towards providing a more consistent product and more frequent content. Barring real life, anyway, that's my INTENT.

I'm not going to leave folks hanging, this time. I'm going to wait until I've worked out rough drafts for any number of chapters to make SURE I do have that cohesive story there before I even start posting anything. So I may drop off the radar for another month or so here, but I WILL be back, this time. Promise. For reals.

In the meantime, I'm going to go ahead and show off what I HAD produced of chapter 21, just under two years ago. It's only two scenes, and it's the very last of this incarnation of Inner Demons. I do apologize to anyone who HAD read this story, and got left on such a horrible cliffhanger. This actually won't help that too much more, but... it's something, anyway.

* * *

For a few fleeting seconds, Devimon and IceDevimon seemed but blurs of black and white in the air. Then, an instant later, both were halted in mid-air by one another, their Death Claw and Frost Claw attacks colliding. The two physical strikes had struck each other, their claws locked together. There they stayed for several more moments, two pairs of crimson eyes trying to bore holes into their twins.

"Such impudence," IceDevimon growled. "Thinking that you, a newly evolved Adult, can stand a chance against me. All the Digimon I've defeated and loaded..."

"Yeah, well," Devimon said, "that was before Renamon kicked your ass."

Both broke free, and dropped to the dirty ground at the same time.

"I'll give you one chance to forfeit your life. No sense in letting such a proud fighter suffer in humiliation."

Devimon scoffed, grinning madly. "I should do the same for you, jackass! You don't have any of your Field Controller tricks anymore, and your buddy over there already used up two BIG power-ups beating the shit outta me earlier."

IceDevimon's eyes widened a bit, as did Yosuke's. The fact they were down two major Psi Cards hadn't crossed their minds, it seemed.

Devimon jerked a sharp thumb back towards Takato. "But my Tamer's all recharged and primed to kick your asses. That's what you get for tryin' to be flashy. Me? I just prefer to brawl it out."

He punctuated that last sentence with a hard punch towards IceDevimon's face. He caught the punch effortlessly, his eyes turning blue and glowing. He scowled, a cold mist rising from those eyes. "Do not test me. I am still far more powerful than anything you've ever experienced."

Devimon's red eyes grew even brighter in their color, flickers of flame appearing around them as he blinked. "Oh yeah?" he asked, leaning closer. "You wanna test me on that, Frosty?"

"ZERO FREEZE!"

Twin beams of blue light shot out of IceDevimon's skull, but Devimon reacted just as quickly.

"NIGHTMARE WAVE!"

Similar, flaming blasts launched out of Devimon's eyes, striking IceDevimon's attack head-on. The beams met without much distance to travel, each pushing back and forth against the other, until Devimon gave a guttural roar. His beams intensified greatly, quickly overcoming IceDevimon's, striking him full in the face with surging power.

IceDevimon screamed, letting go of Devimon's fist and stumbling back to clutch his face. Devimon didn't give him even a second to recover, quickly, throwing a fist into his opponent's stomach. As his upper body jerked forward from that blow, another fist connected with the side of IceDevimon's head.

His white-clad other fell onto his back, and looked up, still holding one half of his singed face. Devimon stood over him, cracking his knuckles.

"Now," the other fallen angel said, "you were sayin'?"

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons**

**Phase 01 - "Rising Shadow"**

**Realization 21- _"Rebirth"_**

* * *

With the explosion of one final Bakemon, data dissipating into nothingness, they had made it. Ruki, Kyuubimon, Jenrya, and Galgomon were standing outside the entrance to the hospital, where they knew the Digital Field had started expanding, and thus where its source likely still was.

"This Digital Field feeds on the pain and despair of those around it," Ruki said. "A hospital's really a great place for that, if you think about it."

Jenrya didn't say anything, he was just scanning up the side of the building. She knew he was hunting the window to Shuichon's room.

"Listen," Ruki said, "you two go in from the bottom, and you can search from there up to her room."

Jenrya blinked a bit, and glanced back at her. "What about you two?"

"We'll take from top to bottom, of course," Kyuubimon said.

Ruki nodded. "Yeah. Though I think we should both be headed in the same direction..."

"Hoshi Yumi's room," Jenrya said, and then sighed. "Right. I just have to make sure Shuichon's okay first..."

"Hey, not arguing with that one bit," Ruki said, and then after a second, added grimly, "just... try to stay prepared for whatever you might see in there."

"Whaddaya mean?" Galgomon asked.

"There were probably a bunch of people on life support when Evilmon made this Field appear," Ruki said, trying not to make eye contact with the other two. "Or others in surgery. With everyone dropping into a sleep-like state once in touch with this thing, and with it likely fragging electrical equipment..."

Jenrya held up a hand. "I- I get it. We'll meet you inside."

Ruki just nodded a little, silently, while Jenrya and Galgomon rushed towards the building. She didn't bother to watch them, only placing a hand on Kyuubimon's side.

"Are you alright?" Kyuubimon asked as the girl climbed onto her back.

"Not exactly," she murmured. "I hadn't really thought about that fact until just now. There's got to be dozens of people dead in there by now... I knew something was coming, but it started building up so suddenly, even if I had told Yamaki, there wouldn't have been enough time to get _anyone_ away..."

"I know you're good at it," Kyuubimon said, "but don't beat yourself up. If you begin to give into that, we won't be able to carry on, you know that."

Ruki again only gave a response of a nod. She knew that her partner was right. Especially in a Digital Field like this, if she gave into doubts, there's no telling how easy it would be for the nature of the place to take advantage of it and start messing with her mind. She had to remain focused.

Kyuubimon ran straight at a wall... and then straight up it, scaling the building's side at a rapid pace. "I know Evilmon's in here somewhere, but I can't pick up _where_, exactly."

Ruki clung tight to Kyuubimon's back. "Yeah, same here. If I used my Second Stage, maybe..."

"You also know we have no idea what we're getting ourselves into," Kyuubimon said. "For all we know, we'll need everything we have to beat him when we find him. No sense in draining ourselves before we do that."

"Yeah, you're right," Ruki said. "Besides, Evilmon _wants_ us to find him, I think. He wouldn't have done something this elaborate, otherwise."

Or at least, that's what Ruki wanted to think. It was the only thing that made sense, after all, right?

* * *

Yeah. That's... about it. It's all raw, rough draft, no fiddling with the content.

I'm thankful to everyone that has enjoyed ID up until now, and stay tuned. I'll be back, and hopefully, Inner Demons will be better than before.


	2. Realization 01: Tamer

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, and Bandai. On the other hand, Norio, Yasuo, and Katoki Yosuke are most unfortunately mine.  
**Series Rating:** PG-13. Rating changed for various reasons. Some things may at times border on an R rating, and if it's thought necessary, or it goes far enough, the rating will be bumped up.  
**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** (For those that actually find it important) Male/Female; Female/Female - Things may not be always how you think, or in the context you may expect, however...

* * *

Water fell relentlessly from the heavens upon West Shinjuku. Winds tore at anything and everything, and lightning struck with an alarming frequency. For most sane people, this would be more than enough to keep them at home, tucked safely in their beds by the time midnight rolled around.

For some, however, there wasn't much choice in the matter.

Not that the teenaged girl who didn't have that choice really cared at the moment. The violet-eyed, redheaded girl ignored the watered pounding on her and focused her attention on what stood in the street before her.

It was a creature that, for all it mattered, was quite humanoid. But it didn't take much looking at it to tell the thing was _far_ from human… it stood well above the height that most humans did, and had scaled, blue skin. It also wielded two wooden swords.

What got her attention the most, however, wasn't the creature itself; it was the bodies littered around it.

The girl's serious, unemotional expression became fierce. She knew very well that this may have not been intentional; that the creature could just be scared and confused. She could care less about that fact, though. There was only one course of action now.

The creature seemed to realize this as well, however, and quickly ran for an alley. If it wasn't for how grave this situation now was, though, the girl would have smirked. "Idiot."

The loud sound of gunfire from the alley suddenly cut through the sound of the rain and thunder. The redhead wasn't surprised by this, and merely began walking over in that direction. The sound of fighting came from that area for a few, brief moments before there was another quick burst of gunfire and the blue-skinned creature was thrown from the alley with great force.

The monster landed just over a dozen feet from the girl, and instead of getting up, it writhed in pain, clutching its leg. The reason was quite obvious, as that limb was now had several bullet wounds, and he was losing a fair amount of blood from them.

"Wait!" a male voice shouted.

The redhead's eyes moved to the alley and saw a blue-haired young man her age coming out of it. "For what? You know very well how this works. Especially since this Yashamon has now harmed innocent bystanders. Besides…" The girl turned her back to the boy. "After what your friend's just done to him, consider it putting him out of his misery…"

She glanced back briefly. Upon seeing a flaming blue dragon, somehow defying the water cascading over it flying towards the Yashamon, she looked forward again. Ignoring the scream that followed, she reached into her pocket and retrieved a cell phone. Flipping it open, she hit a button and held it to her head.

"Sir, this is Makino. Threat neutralized," she said, and then sighed deeply. "However, you may want to get some people down here…"

Knowing her message would be understood, and that there was nothing more to say, Makino Ruki looked around to see the carnage she had turned her back on.

Or, to be exact… The carnage she _wanted_ to turn her back on.

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons**  
**_Realization 01- "Tamer"_**  
**By Infinity Blade**

* * *

With only a few lingering, dark clouds now stationed above the city, bright rays of light eventually found their way through the darkness. The sun shone down upon West Shinjuku, giving it an entirely different look than it had adopted only a few hours ago in the darkness of the night…

Shinjuku was apart of Tokyo, Japan, easily one of the largest and most populated cities on the face of the Earth. Like any other city, everyday people woke up and went about their daily routine. Be it to go to work, school, or just to care for their children, there seemed to be nothing unusual about it at its surface. Indeed, for a majority of this city, there _was_ nothing unusual about it…

But Shinjuku… it was different. There was something about it, something at its very core that was _very_ different… Something that most people didn't truly realize. For their safety… for their _sanity_… it was best for things to be left like that.

Soon, one soul would wish that things _had_ been left like that…

* * *

"Hm… well, lets see… if I add just a bit here…"

Sitting up against a wall, with a sketchpad propped up on his knees and a pencil in hand, was a young man. Sixteen years old, there was nothing really outright remarkable about his appearance. Like all of his male classmates, he wore a gray school uniform with a white shirt beneath his jacket. Though many in his school griped about the dull dress code, he didn't mind it, personally. He found himself blending into crowds quite often in normal gatherings; this just allowed him to do so easier at school.

Truly, the only thing that even partially stood out about him was the mess of brown hair sitting atop his head. He didn't really mind this either. To be just another face in the crowd wasn't _that_ horrible a fate…

Matsuda Takato, in the end, was happy to just sit at the corner of this wall as he did almost every morning while awaiting school's start. Eyes focused on what he was drawing and nothing else, the entire world around him just seemed to vanish…

Pausing for a moment, he pulled his pencil away from the drawing. He looked over what he had accomplished, and nodded a bit, smiling just slightly. "Yeah… yeah, I think this will work…"

What occurred next was so quick that Takato barely had enough time to recognize _what_ happened. So engrossed in his work as he was, he didn't notice people approaching around the corner. Normally, when people found him on this corner, they would be walking by normally and just went around him.

As fate would have it, at that single, particular moment, one person went running around the corner as fast as he could, for whatever reason. His reason was irrelevant in an instant, however, as he ran right into Takato. Takato released a cry of pain as he fell over, his sketchpad flying from his grasp. As well, his school bag was knocked over, sending most of his books and schoolwork flying from it.

The one who hit him wasn't in a much better position himself, as he went flying right into a large puddle of water.

Takato groaned as he began getting up. Before he even got up very far, someone seized him by the back of his jacket and hauled him up to his feet roughly. "You're _seriously_ gonna regret that…"

The young man's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. It most certainly belonged to a boy in Takato's grade named Kobayashi Norio. If he was there, most certainly his brother Yasuo, older by one year, was there too. And…

The thought "oh crap" suddenly repeated itself very frequently in Takato's mind.

The brown-haired boy gasped in pain as Norio slammed him up against a wall. Takato looked at him as he shoved a hand against his shoulder to keep him in place. Norio was fairly muscular, with very short brown hair on his head. His brother Yasuo, taller and somewhat lanky with longer hair of the same color, stood behind him.

Another member of their group was there as well, but he was trying to make his presence unknown by staying behind Yasuo. But just a quick glance at him sent the anger that was rising up within Takato ever higher…

"Well, well, well…"

Takato inwardly cringed, and looked over to see the one who had tripped over him. He was a classmate named Katoki Yosuke. Whatever style his short black hair may have been in didn't really matter anymore, as it was soaking wet… along with the rest of his body. Despite this, he had a look on his face that was somewhere between a sneer and a grin.

Yosuke and those around him were well known at Takato's school. Not for anything good, though; they were seen by a majority of the school as punks. They would do what they wanted, no matter who they had to step on to do it. But no one really _did_ anything about them, either…

"And what do you have to say for yourself?" Yosuke asked, cracking the knuckles in one hand.

"S-sorry…" Takato muttered, almost under his breath.

All humor went out of Yosuke's face as he glared at him. "Is that so? Well, whether or not you're sorry, I'm soaking wet, as is all of my stuff. And you…"

Yosuke paused and looked down. His foot was an inch from stepping on Takato's sketchpad. Grinning once more, he scooped it off the ground, staring at the picture on the page it was open to. "Heh. Still working on these shitty drawings, eh, Matsuda?"

Takato grit his teeth. "I said I was sorry… it was just an accident…"

"Eh," Yosuke shrugged and unceremoniously tossed the pad into the puddle.

Takato suddenly struggled to lash out. "Why you-!" It was a futile attempt, as Norio's grip held strong.

"Now, now, Takato-kun," Yosuke said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he clamped a hand on Takato's other shoulder, "there's no need to be like that…"

"Why can't you just leave me alone…?" Takato mumbled.

Yosuke's smile widened as his grip on Takato's shoulder tightened… so much that it started to hurt. "Now, where would be the fun in that…?"

Suddenly, the hand of the group's fourth member fell onto Yosuke's arm. "Hey. C'mon, I think he understands… we should-"

"Oh, shut up Shiota!" Yosuke exclaimed, releasing Takato's shoulder to knock the other young man away. Takato stared in surprise at the spiky-haired young man, and almost felt his anger subside for a moment.

"Hey, I was just saying, we need to get to class and all," the fourth member, Shiota Hirokazu, defended himself, "plus, is it _really_ worth-"

"I said shut up," Yosuke growled, and then turned to face Takato. He pounded a fist into his palm, chuckling. "And screw class. I think it's time we taught Matsuda here a lesson, what do you boys think?"

Yasuo just grinned and nodded, while Norio's grip tightened. "We've told you to stay out of our way," the muscle-bound boy snarled.

Takato clenched his eyes shut, knowing what was about to happen…

"Let him go!"

His eyes then immediately snapped back open, and all of their heads turned in one direction towards the sound of the voice. Standing nearby, there was a girl Takato's age, with shoulder-length brown hair. Much like the boys' uniforms, her's was quite dull, with a gray top and black skirt. Her arms were crossed across her chest, and the look on her face was quite angry.

Yasuo chuckled, eyeing his younger schoolmate. "Well hello there, Juri-chan…"

Katou Juri's glare became more intense. "Leave him alone."

Juri was a classmate of Takato's. She was one of the nicest people in the school, and also always one of the first to stick up for him. She would do that for just about anyone, though...

Yosuke snickered. "Really? Oh, well, just because you say so, I guess we should leave poor, defenseless little Takato-chan alone then, shouldn't we?" He looked back at Takato, and then shrugged. "Eh. What the hell? Norio, let him go."

Norio gave him a disbelieving look for a moment, but then released him. Takato's hand immediately went to his pained shoulder, and Yosuke leaned over to get in his face.

"Hell, your ass getting saved by a girl like Katou is almost better than us beating the crap out of you," he whispered happily. "We should thank her."

With that, Takato's tormentors took their leave, most of them looking quite pleased with themselves. Lagging behind, Hirokazu cast one last glance back. Takato didn't really pay it any mind, however, and just silently began to try and get his things together.

"I just can't believe," Juri muttered as she walked over, "that Hirokazu hangs out with those… those… those…"

"Idiots?" Takato offered softly.

Juri paused briefly before kneeling down next to him. "Here, let me give you a hand…"

"I'm fine," he murmured.

Ignoring his response, she continued getting his stuff off the ground anyway. He didn't argue; he knew there would be no point in it. Soon, everything seemed to be in order, and as he looked around to make sure he wasn't missing anything, he suddenly felt her hand on top of his. He felt his entire body freeze.

"You really shouldn't let them abuse you like that," she said. Her tone was soft, but also stern to a certain degree. "If you do, they're just going to keep at it…"

Takato jerked his hand away and stood up quickly. "There's nothing I could do…"

Juri sighed, but then stopped. "Oh, wait, you missed this…"

He looked down, discovering that she was holding up a card. Instantly, he started to feel a little queasy…

She looked at the card for a moment before it seemed that realization struck her. "Oh, this is a digimon card, isn't it?"

Takato blushed heavily and took the card back. "Um, uh… yeah…" Without another word, he began to walk, but soon stopped as he reached the puddle. His sketchpad sat in it, completely drenched. Ruined.

_That figures,_ Takato thought bitterly, _but at least today can't possibly get any worse…_

* * *

A man sat in a smoky room lit only by a small lamp on his desk. His eyes were locked onto several sheets of paper spread across that desk.

One entity realized…

Seven people dead…

Entity neutralized in record time…

The man took a puff of the cigarette in his mouth and shook his head. "This is getting much too frequent," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "And we're not making any headway in stopping it altogether…"

Suddenly, the phone on his desk rang. He nearly sprang up in surprise, but instead reached over and hit a button on it while he placed his cigarette in an ashtray. "Yes?"

"Sir, I think you should come up here," a female voice answered.

"May I ask why…?"

"I think we may have another Realization preparing itself," she replied, "but… we can't lock down where it is. It's… erratic. However, sir… it seems to be a Type 1."

The man's blue eyes widened in shock. "Right. Keep trying to lock it down… I'll be right there."

* * *

By the end of school that day, Takato was quite thankful it was over with. He normally didn't mind school all _that_ much. It had actually been a quiet day once he was in the school building, as well. However, thanks to what had happened that morning, he felt his concentration shattered on… just about everything. He found himself messing up on nearly everything he did that day. Turning in the wrong pieces of homework, screwing up on school work in the classroom… The day had just started bad, and went downhill from there.

It was over, though. All Takato truly wanted at that point was to get out of there and go straight home, just as he had to do every day…

He sighed as he walked away from the school. _With my luck, something will go wrong at home…_

This day was hardly an exception, however. Trouble seemed to follow Takato around like the plague. It wasn't as if he _tried_ to attract it, he just did. All he tried to do was remain quiet, not bother anyone… and yet…

Takato shook his head. He didn't need to dwell on that. It wouldn't do him any good.

His hand fell to his pants pocket and he felt the card Juri had picked up earlier in it. Instantly, his thoughts went back to what he was trying to avoid thinking of. It wasn't hard to figure that his interests may have something to do with why he was a target…

Digimon. A franchise made up of cards, video games, and an anime, was something that had been quite popular a couple of years prior.

At least, it had been popular with _children_.

Despite that, it had attracted some older fans, but it wasn't something that was smart for them to advertise, as it would almost instantly attract people who would make fun of them.

At this point in time, however, Digimon was barely being kept afloat by the card game and handfuls of fans here and there. Somehow, it would somehow be even _worse_ to be found as a fan of it then than it was in the past.

Takato's interest in it, however, didn't stem from anything childish. He didn't think so, at least. He loved art. He loved to design a variety of things, no matter what they may be… to just let his imagination run wild.

Digimon had such a wide variety of designs for its monsters that he was instantly drawn to it. He loved how despite being so many of them, they were all so different. It was so easy for him to find inspiration from all of it…

Yet it is one thing, among other things, that left him wide open to attack from his peers. To be interested in what some thought merely to be a simple child's game…

Once more that day lost in thought, Takato didn't see what was coming next. Suddenly, someone threw an arm around his shoulders. A quick glance to the side allowed him to see who it was.

Yosuke.

"Hiya," the other young man greeted, his black hair now just a mess rather than being soaked.

Takato's body instantly tensed, but he continued walking. He cast his eyes around the area; several students were around as they walked home, including Juri and a couple of her friends. The girl was looking over in their direction, but made no movements to do anything… None of Yosuke's friends were around, though.

"Wh-what do you want?" Takato asked quietly.

Yosuke smirked. "Now, now, Matsuda… why act so nervous?"

Juri's words from earlier went through Takato's mind… _"You really shouldn't let them abuse you like that. If you do, they're just going to keep at it…"_

_But what can I do?_ Takato thought. _…of course, if I do anything, that couldn't really make things any worse… could it?_

"Why do you think?" Takato mumbled.

Yosuke's expression didn't change, and he just shook his head. "Matsuda… really. You make things even harder on yourself than they need to be…"

"Just leave me alone," Takato said, a slight growl developing in his voice. "I need to get home…"

"Oh, please, don't be such a mama's boy," Yosuke said, still grinning like an idiot.

Takato's frustration rose, balling his hands into fists. _Why can't you just shut up and leave me alone?_

"See, now, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones…" Yosuke continued.

_Probably wants to use me as a scapegoat for something…_

"And-"

"Shut up," Takato muttered, bringing his stride to a halt.

Yosuke stopped as well, his eyes locking onto Takato's as he stepped in front of him. "'Scuse me?"

"Just get out of my way so I can get home, please," Takato said as calmly as he could manage. "My Mom needs my help today, and-"

Yosuke snorted and grabbed Takato by his jacket. "Listen, asswipe, that's not a very nice way to return my hospitality."

_Hospitality?_ Takato questioned in his head. _Right. And _I'm_ the Prime Minister of Japan._

Takato kept his eyes in line with his classmate's. "Let go of me."

"Or what?" Yosuke smiled. "You'll go crying behind your stupid bitch mother's apron?"

In an instant, something snapped within Takato's mind. He found his balled up fist driving violently into Yosuke's gut, almost as if it were possessed. As the black-haired young man fell back, Takato's other fist flew against Yosuke's face. Being taken completely off guard by the force of both blows, Yosuke was flung to the ground roughly.

Takato stood there for a few moments, taking in multiple deep breaths while he stared down at Yosuke's prone body. He then looked at his fists, and he had a sudden rush of nausea. He started to stumble back, holding his head… but then he did the only thing he could think of, despite knowing that the eyes of several students had just watched what happened.

He ran.

* * *

"Whoa!" A technician sitting before a giant screen in a large, dark chamber exclaimed.

A blonde man leaned over her chair, eyeing the readings she was getting. "What is it?"

"Its… odd," the woman muttered, "there was a sudden spike in all of the readings… unlike anything I've seen before…"

"But it didn't Realize?" the man asked.

"Negative, sir," another woman, also sitting before the screen, said.

The man drummed his fingers on the back of the chair for a moment. "I see…" He jerked his head in the direction of another technician across the chamber. "Contact Ruki. Keep her on alert."

"Yes, sir!"

He looked back to the women. "Megumi, Reika… Keep monitoring this, and tell me if you find any specific details."

"Sir!" they both chorused.

The man glanced up at the screen, fiddling with a small silver object in his hand. It was rare something made him very nervous…

He really hated that.

_Click._

* * *

Having now slowed down to a walk, Takato continued on his way home. He couldn't believe what he had just done… and was in equal disbelief that he had done it so effectively.

_Not that he didn't deserve it…_

Everything about him right now, though, displayed his nervousness. His hands were shaking, he was breathing hard, and he kept looking behind his back every few seconds, expecting Yosuke or his friends to come up from behind and attack him…

_Couldn't make things worse… yeah, right._

He knew this was just going to make his life a living hell at school… There was really no denying it… Yosuke had probably already gone back to the school, telling them how Takato assaulted him… Figuring out the way someone like him thought wasn't very difficult, Takato knew…

"Hey," a familiar voice suddenly said, and Takato's head jerked in the direction of the sound. There, he found Hirokazu leaning up against a wall, smirking slightly. "I hear you have a mean right hook."

Takato just stared, now frozen in place. "Uh… how did you get here… so quickly…?"

"Took a shortcut," he said, shrugging.

"Wh-what do you want?" Takato asked.

Hirokazu eyed him momentarily, and then grinned. "Takato, listen-"

Takato cast his eyes to the ground. "Why? It's not like we're friends…"

The other young man paused. "Takato… I'd really suggest avoiding Yosuke as best you can for awhile."

"I didn't start it!" Takato shouted, his eyes snapping back up. "I never did anything to him before that! And who are you to come and tell me something like that?"

Hirokazu looked away from him. "Just… you don't… oh, nevermind. Just watch your back, okay?"

The spiky-haired boy then pushed off the wall and started walking up the street, not bothering to send another look Takato's way.

_Why should he care?_ Takato thought while he continued towards his home. _It's not like he did before… and I don't need him to point out the obvious…_

It wasn't long before he reached his house, though it didn't appear as one on the outside. A majority of the building was taken up by his family's bakery, while the rest contained minimal living quarters. A kitchen, a couple of bedrooms, a bathroom… not much, but it was all they really needed…

Upon entering through the back door, he immediately heard his mother, Mie's voice calling out to him. "Takato, is that you honey? I could really use a hand!"

"I'll be right there, Mom!" he shouted back. "Just let me go get changed!"

Takato made his way past the kitchen to the staircase that led up to the bedrooms. As he did so, he passed by a picture of his father, mother, and him, and couldn't help but sigh slightly. Every day after school, he made sure to get home as quickly as possible to help with the bakery. He had no choice but to do this, with his father, Takehiro, no longer with them…

It had been a few years since he had passed away. He had started this bakery himself, but after he was gone, Mie was determined to keep it going. She had a couple of people that came in to help her during the day, but later on she would generally need her son's assistance to keep things going properly.

Between this and school, Takato knew it didn't give him much time for a life outside those two things… but he didn't really mind. It wasn't as if he really had any outside obligations…

* * *

_Click._

"Everything seems to have stabilized sir… completely."

"But it's still there?" the blonde haired man asked the technician.

"Well… yes…"

_Click._

"Then there is no stability, Reika," he replied. "Not until we know what it is there for, and what it is going to do."

"Right… yes sir, Yamaki," Reika said.

He scowled at the readings they were getting. _It was never like this before… not with the other two…_

_Click._

* * *

Takato sighed.

For a short while, at least, Takato had been able to keep his mind off of the events of that day. By keeping himself busy in the front of the bakery, handling the register and money, he was able to keep his mind from drifting. Despite the fact it _did _keep him from doing much of anything else, he welcomed fulfilling his responsibilities there. Other than the occasional difficult customer, he always felt better when he was at home, even if he was working.

Things went about without incident until the time came to close the shop down. Although he had no problems with helping out, he was also quite glad for this, after the day he had just experienced. All he really wanted now was to eat and head off to bed, hoping to just forget about everything in his sleep…

Unfortunately for him, he then found his mother asking him to head down to the store to pick up a couple of things. Although he didn't really want to, he complied.

As luck would have it, no sooner was he out of his home did his mind slip back to the things he didn't want to deal with…

_I'm going to get creamed tomorrow if I run into any of them,_ he thought while he turned out of the alley behind his house and went along the sidewalk. It was cool out that night, but he couldn't see anything in the sky… clouds covered it. _That'll be hard, with Katoki in my class… but… he can't do anything there, right? It's just before and after school that I have to be careful…_

He just couldn't understand it. He didn't do anything that should attract such trouble… He didn't bother anyone…

_So why am everyone's punching bag?_

He couldn't really figure out how to go to his mother about this… He just didn't know if she would understand…

_If only… if just…_

Takato placed a hand over his face and let out a long breath. _I just need to relax…_

As he rounded the next corner, however, he froze.

"Well, well… fancy seeing you here," a voice said coolly.

Takato just stared wide-eyed at what stood before him. "Ka- Katoki…"

_H-how…? That's… that's not… Why is he here?_

Yosuke's dark clothing and hair would have allowed him to easily blend into the shadows if it wasn't for the lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. "Seems today is my lucky day, Matsuda," he grinned. "I just thought I would go out for a walk… clear my head… and something just _drew me_ over to this area…"

Takato gulped. "Listen… I'm sorry about this afternoon…"

Yosuke chuckled. "Oh, no need to worry about that… well, there won't be after I pay you back, anyway."

Takato's instincts took over once more that day, and he went running back towards his house. Somehow, though, Yosuke wound up being faster than him, and was quickly able to snag the back of his shirt. Takato's dash was stopped immediately, and he found himself being flung into wall of a building.

"Now then, Takato-kun, allow me to teach you something," Yosuke said in a mocking tone as Takato began to stumble. Grinning all the way, he slammed a fist into Takato's stomach, eliciting a shout of pain from him. Takato would have doubled over if it wasn't for the fact that that Yosuke then grabbed a handful of his hair to keep him upright. "Namely, what happens when a little shit like you makes me the laughing stock of the whole fuckin' school!"

Yosuke pounded his fist into Takato again. And again. He was in pain… he couldn't think straight… everything was happening so suddenly. All he knew was that he was angry, and was being pushed beyond any anger he had ever felt before with each blow…

It was almost unfathomable the rage and hatred he was feeling towards this one, single human being. Everything Yosuke had ever done to him … he hadn't prompted it on purpose. But he was an easy target… he let things happen to him without fighting back… he literally was, especially at this moment, just a punching bag…

Yosuke released Takato's hair and smashed his knuckles against the side of the other boy's head. Takato didn't even scream and just fell to the ground. "Good for nothing little punk," Yosuke spat..

"S-stop… stop it…" Takato said, his voice trembling with both rage and pain.

"What's that?" Yosuke questioned, cupping a hand around his ear. "Got something to say? Huh?" He swept his foot up into Takato's side, this time bringing a shout out of him. "Do you?"

Takato stared up at Yosuke, with his ever-constant, mocking grin. He wanted to wipe that smirk off his face so badly… _If I just had… something. Anything… anyone… just_ something_ to make him stop! ANYTHING!_

Yosuke kicked him again, and Takato screamed. "STOP IT!"

For just a moment, everything stopped. Then, that smirk _did_ vanish from Yosuke's face, and he found himself taking a few steps back from Takato. The brown-haired young man then felt something appear in his hand from out of nowhere. It felt… warm. Almost comforting…

Yosuke's expression, however, was turning to one of fear. Takato, despite his pain, strained himself to turn his head and see what was behind him…

In the middle of the street, an incredibly thick, but small patch of fog was rising up out of the ground. Electricity surged from it at random spots, and the streetlights around them were flickering; a few even just simply blew out.

Then, something began to take shape, and the fog began to dissipate… Takato could only watch in amazement at what emerged…

It looked like… a demon. It was small, humanoid, and covered in purple fur. It hand a scarlet glove on each, three-fingered hand, and a scarf of the same color. Its white face held a toothy grin, and its eyes were green. Lastly, on its chest there was a yellow smiley face, and there was a small tail coming out of the creature's back.

_That… that's…_

"Wh… what the hell is that?" Yosuke screamed. It was no surprise that the dark haired boy suddenly started to run at that point.

"Aw, what's the matter?" the demon's scratchy voice laughed, taking a long leap over Takato's body. "Don't tell me you're afraid of lil ol' me!

The demon looked at the ground, seeing Yosuke's still-burning cigarette having fallen to it. "Heh. Like fire, do ya…?" He thrust a gloved hand out. "Then have some of mine! SUMMON!" A small hole in the ground just… appeared before him. "FLAME!"

A fireball soared out of the hole, and immediately flew through the air towards Yosuke. The young man only turned his head in time to notice it just before it struck him. He screamed at the top of his lungs as flames engulfed his entire body, and he fell to the ground, rolling around wildly.

The demon snickered as the hole vanished and he snapped his fingers. "Badaboom, sucker."

Much to the demon's displeasure, however, he heard a rumbling above, followed quickly by the sky suddenly opening up and releasing a barrage of water. "…the hell?" he grumbled, glancing at Yosuke as the rain started to extinguish the just-started fire. "Crap. Just when I was havin' fun…"

Takato could only stare as the sudden rain beat down on him. From the smoke rising off of Yosuke's twitching body, to the small demon standing right in front of him…

He felt the thing in his hand again, and looked down at it. It was a small, silver device with a screen on it. Around the screen was a purple strip, and there were also two buttons and a strap of the same color. "What the…"

The demon turned to face him, still smiling. As he did so, a holographic display appeared on the device, showing the creature… and his name.

"Impmon…"

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Now, I'm sure I know what most of you are thinking… and no, I am NOT smoking anything. The idea for this comes from the people behind Digimon itself. Whether or not THEY smoked anything a few times during the production of the entire series is another question. :P  
So, I know it will be asked. "Why is Impmon Takato's partner here?" Please direct your attention to the following address: The web page of Chiaki J. Konaka, one of the primary minds behind Digimon Tamers. Find the Digimon Tamers section (easiest way to do it is through the English site map). To be specific, the English version of the "About Characters" section on the Tamers page. By looking at Impmon's entry, you will see that one of the original intentions before Konaka came on board was to have Impmon as the main character's Digimon.  
Well… ever since I read that, the concept has planted a seed in my mind. I've been wanting to write a Digimon Tamers AU for awhile, but I had to find something… right. Something that would be _different_ enough to be worth it. From that one, single concept that could have been… I've been able to build this whole series.  
The most difficult task of creating an AU is keeping the characters recognizable. As someone who values characterization, I can say that I will try my hardest to do that right here. You may notice certain bits of characterization that don't seem right in this first chapter, but… well, I just can't explain everything at once, or else I'll wind up sacrificing proper characterization. You'll see what I mean. Or at least, I hope so.  
I should note, though, that not everything I do here is for the reasons one may automatically assume. I can't really expand on that much, so just take it as it is.  
Oh… and the rain suddenly breaking out at the end wasn't a coincidence, also. If you paid attention, you should have some idea as to why. And yes, I know that one of Impmon's lines is dub-inspired, but I just couldn't resist for that one part. :p  
I'm also not sure when I'll be able to continue this, what with some other series I have going on, but I definitely will. I have so many things I want to do with this to not follow up on it soon…  
As well, just a small thing… From now on, instead of cluttering up my author's notes with replies to reviews, for any review where there's a need for a response, that response will go You may also once in awhile find previews for upcoming stories there.  
So, before I end this long-winded author's note, which hopefully shouldn't be the case in future installments… Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated. Especially here, as I'm looking forward to reactions to various things in this series.

* * *

_"Everything around me explodes like a whirlwind, and I suddenly wonder if I'm living the same life… The demon in purple, and the man in black… Both of them taunt me with knowledge of things I do not know… Everywhere I turn, things are getting worse and worse… What did I do to deserve this? Why are these things happening to me? Will someone please explain all of this?"  
**Next: Realization 02- "Partner"**_


	3. Realization 02: Partner

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei Animation. The characters of Yosuke, Yasuo, and Norio are mine.  
**Note: **Quick thing; in case anyone's wondering about any characters not yet present from canon in this series, I will do my best to make sure ALL characters play some sort of part.

As well, thanks to all who reviewed after I put my first chapter back up. I appreciate it.

* * *

He lay there on the sidewalk as the rain beat down onto him. He felt tired, but not just from the beating he had received… it was… something else. His vision was blurred, and that wasn't helped by the heavy precipitation.

The blotch of colors before him… the demon… waved a hand in front of his face…

He just couldn't keep his eyes open… he needed rest…

In the back of his mind, he wondered that maybe if he fell asleep, he would awake and find this was all a dream…

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 02- "Partner"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

It was not a dream. It did not seem to be, at least… but Takato still wished it had been.

He had found himself jolted awake to see he was on the wet sidewalk. It had stopped raining… the demon was gone… but that was the least of his troubles. After being woken he was surrounded by police officers and paramedics. He was then shuffled off into an ambulance, too groggy to notice much else going on around him… except for one thing.

Seeing paramedics elsewhere tending to Yosuke's body, his skin charred, his eyes full of fear and anger… The intense look of pain on his face… That much was enough to tell Takato no dream had occurred.

It was all too real…

The paramedics checked him over, and that too went about without him fully grasping what was going on. Soon after, however, he was handed over to police custody…

Takato shivered as he recalled those events as best he could. He wrapped the blanket he had been provided around his wet body, and then looked around where he now was.

He sat in a small room. It was dark, lit only by a small light hanging over the table before him. On the other side of the table sat a police officer, eyeing him. The officer's face was unreadable, but he had a good idea what he was thinking…

"What happened to that boy?" the officer asked, his voice stern.

Takato gulped hard. How was he supposed to answer _that_? He couldn't say that some demon had appeared out nowhere and tossed a fireball at Yosuke. A _digimon_, no less…

A digimon…

Takato just now realized the device that had also appeared in his hands was gone. Had they taken it? That whole area was probably considered a crime scene now…

Or maybe… maybe he hadn't seen what he had. Maybe that device, that digimon… perhaps they were just figments of his imagination.

But what of Yosuke? He _was_ burned severely, though alive…

Takato wondered if he was going insane. If he really was _just_ seeing things, how did Yosuke get like that? Had he done something horrible that he couldn't even remember?

The officer slammed his palm on the table and stood up, which jolted Takato out of his stupor. "This is serious, kid. Now, you'd better tell me what happened out there…"

Takato gulped again, and opened his mouth to talk…

As he did so, though, the door to the small room suddenly swung up. Takato flinched, covering his face from the brighter light out in the hall. "Out," another officer, tall and broad-shouldered with brown hair, ordered. He jerked a thumb out towards the hallway as he said the single word.

The officer that had been attempting to interrogate Takato glared at the young man, but complied and exited the room. Takato looked nervously to the second officer, but to his surprise, the man smiled.

"Don't worry, kid," he said, "things aren't as bad as you may think."

He then turned away, and behind him Takato saw another man. The man instantly walked in, shutting the door behind him, and the brown haired boy quickly realized this person was quite different from the last two.

He wore no police uniform, or any kind of firearm that Takato could see. He was blonde, wearing dark sunglasses and a business suit. In one hand was a folder, and in the other was a small cup. He walked over to the table and set the cup in front of Takato before walking to the other end of the room.

Takato stared at the cup for a moment, blinking, and then looked at the man as he removed his sunglasses. "It's coffee," the man responded simply. "I don't know whether or not you like it, but I suspect you're cold, so I'd think you would want something warm."

Takato only took another moment of looking at the cup before he grabbed it and started to pour it down his throat…

Then immediately stopped as he felt his tongue burning.

"I told you it was warm," the man said calmly.

Takato just nodded, feeling somewhat stupid, but thankful for the warm liquid. He started to drink it more cautiously, and the man leaned up against a wall.

"Matsuda Takato, my name is Yamaki Mitsuo," he said, opening his folder and reading its contents.

"You're… not a police officer, are you?" Takato asked.

"No," Yamaki said, "but in matters such as these, I am well within my power to pull rank with the local law enforcement."

"What… kind of matters?"

"I could very easily beat around the bush, but I believe you would appreciate me getting right to the point," Yamaki said, his blue eyes turning to the teenager. "Where is your digimon?"

Takato nearly spit the coffee that he had just emptied into his mouth out. "My- my- my what?"

"Your digimon," Yamaki said again, as if it were nothing. He pushed himself off of the wall and walked back towards the table. "The creature that Realized earlier tonight. The one that nearly burned the other young man alive." He reached into his pocket, and to Takato's surprise pulled out the device that had appeared with Impmon. He placed it on the table and slid it over to the younger man. "This is your D-Ark."

Takato blinked. "It's not-"

As he said those words, his fingers instinctively brushed the "D-Ark" as he came to a stop in front of him. When he did so, the screen on it lit up.

"-mine…"

Yamaki leaned on the table, staring at Takato straight in the eyes. "You are a Digimon Tamer. So I ask you again… where is your digimon?"

"But digimon… its just…"

"It is quite far from a game, Takato. It is reality," Yamaki said. His face then adopted a small smirk. "It's not too far into the future until you're seventeen, am I correct?"

Takato just nodded mutely.

"Heh. One step closer to the rest of your life…"

Takato could only stare blankly at the man, now even more confused than before, somehow.

Yamaki pulled back from the table, retrieving his sunglasses from his front coat pocket. "So long as there's a world for you to have that life in," he said in a low voice, and donned the glasses again. "You don't have to worry about any charges being pressed against you, Takato. Your mother is outside waiting for you. You can go, but only under one condition."

"Wh- what…?"

Yamaki's expression was impossible to read now in the limited light and with his sunglasses on. "Find that digimon. I'll find _you_ againafter that."

With that, he turned and exited the room. Takato sat there for a few seconds, staring at the wide open door. Then, after he figured no one else was coming, he sat up and exited. Once he reached the waiting room, his mother embraced him tightly before he even really realized she was there.

"I was so worried," Mie said as she hugged her son. "But that nice man Yamaki told me that you and that other boy were attacked by some gang when you went out… oh, I'm so sorry Takato, if I hadn't asked you to go out…"

"It… it's okay, Mom," Takato murmured, but his eyes trailed to another part of the room.

Across the room Takato spotted a young woman that looked to be around his age. Her hair was red and lengthy, tied into a long ponytail behind her head. What had caught his attention was the fact that he had caught her staring over in his direction while discussing something with the second police officer that had come into the interrogation room. To his further surprise, Takato then caught Yamaki walking past the girl and tapping her on the shoulder. After a quick goodbye to the officer, she followed the blonde man out.

_Who…_

"Come on, Takato," Mie said, and the young man refocused his attention on her, "lets go home. You should be really hungry by now…"

"Right…" Takato replied softly as she began to lead him out. So much was going through his mind right now… and he really wasn't sure what to think of it.

_Impmon…_ he thought, pressing his hand against the pocket his D-Ark was in. _If I'm going to get any answers… I have to find him._

* * *

"So, what do you think?"

Makino Ruki glanced briefly at the man walking alongside her. "You were right… he's definitely one of us."

"Not just that," Yamaki pressed.

Ruki stared ahead. "He has power. Lots of it."

"Compared to the others?"

Ruki contemplated the question briefly. "I think it's more, but… it's different somehow. I just can't place my finger on it… You said your readings were odd before it Realized though, correct?"

"Yes," Yamaki said. "It was definitely different from how the other two appeared. Of course, we never got to track yours or-"

"Yeah," Ruki cut him off. "Yeah, I know."

"…right," Yamaki muttered. "So we can't really make a comparison."

"Right…"

They walked in silence for a few moments before he spoke up again. "Do you think it's coming soon?"

Ruki bowed her head. "Yes. Wild Ones are appearing too frequently now… and Tamers are appearing faster too. I mean, the kid just got bonded a month ago."

They came to a stop at a crosswalk. "Do you think we're prepared?" he asked.

She just shook her head. "Not yet."

Yamaki sighed. "Then, we just have to keep going how we are… Just remember, we're counting on you."

They said nothing else, and as soon as he could, Yamaki went over the crosswalk to the other side of the street. Ruki stayed in place and let out a long breath.

"Right, Yamaki," she said to herself. "No pressure, huh?"

"He is correct, though," Ruki heard a voice say from out of nowhere.

At the sound of the voice, Ruki smiled slightly. "I guess so…" she said, and then turned the corner, heading up another sidewalk.

* * *

Digimon…

They were real…

Takato could still scarcely believe it. He sat in his bedroom after he had eaten and his mother had gone to bed. He was dumping out several boxes full of digimon cards, just looking for one, single thing…

That digimon… Impmon. Takato recognized him; he knew he did. He just had to make sure… he wasn't sure _why_, but he felt he needed to do this…

"There," he mumbled softly, finally locating the card he was searching for. He lifted it up off the floor and looked at it. This was most definitely Impmon, standing there, with that sadistic grin on his face…

_"Aw, what's the matter? Don't tell me you're afraid of lil ol' me!"_

Every word the small demon had spoken was etched in Takato's mind…

_"Heh. Like fire, do ya…?"_

That scratchy voice, full of some sort twisted amusement…

_"Then have some of mine! SUMMON!"_

That power… drawing fire up from nowhere…

_"FLAME!"_

That fireball streaking out, striking Yosuke… burning him…

Takato found his empty hand balling into a tight fist. He recalled everything Yosuke had done to him in the past… Even before that day, the other young man had tormented him continually… He couldn't say he felt sorry that happened to Yosuke…

In fact, he almost wished…

Takato stopped his train of thought right there. He knew he shouldn't think like that… it wouldn't be right to…

The young man closed his eyes and yawned. No, he couldn't think like that… He couldn't really do anything about the whole situation right then, either. He just needed to get some rest…

* * *

The next day at school was certainly a different one. One thing Takato had feared that day going into it was running into any of Yosuke's friends, but they seemed to be making themselves rather scarce. In fact, not that many people were talking to him today… This in and of itself was not unusual. Takato would have normally thought nothing if it, if it hadn't been for the way everyone looked at him. The fact that they _were_ looking at him, actually paying attention to him, but not talking to him was bothersome. Some of them seemed to hold a silent amusement, others an unspoken anger… But then there were those that seemed… frightened of him, somehow.

It wasn't long before Takato learned that it was well known what happened to Yosuke the night before. The official story was still what his mother believed to be true, that they had been attacked by a gang. In an atmosphere with this many teenagers, however, the supposed "truth" was dismissed or ignored as various rumors started to crop up. Many of these rumors wound up centering around one thing: Blaming Takato.

As he walked through the school's halls, he could overhear people talking. Some appeared to think they were speaking quieter than they were, while others made it loud and clear who they were speaking of. It wasn't long before he heard such terms as "pyromaniac" and "psycho" being used to describe him.

Suffice to say, his performance in classes that day was, much like the day before, less than stellar. To make matters worse, he could almost swear that even the _teachers_ were giving him curious looks. So he went from subject to subject, hoping against hope that time would speed up so he could just get out of there.

By the time the teenagers were released from the school that afternoon, the rumors had become more widespread than Takato ever imagined they could so quickly. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since the incident with Yosuke happened, and already it seemed the entire school believed he was some nutcase that was pushed too far and lit some guy on fire. Takato almost wished he_ was;_ that way, at least they'd be speaking the truth about him.

So, as Takato walked briskly away from the school (not too fast, so that he didn't draw attention to himself), he was thankful that the only thing he heard anyone saying about him one girl saying to another, "it's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

Naturally, as luck seemed to have some sort of deep seeded vendetta against him over the past day and a half, things didn't wind up being so simple.

"Takato-kun!" he heard a voice shout from behind him.

Takato stopped and slumped his shoulders. Taking a brief glance behind him, he saw Juri approaching. Even if it was someone with no ill intent, he _really_ didn't want this right now…

"Hi," he muttered so low that she probably didn't hear him. He wasn't looking at her now, so she took it upon herself to go around him so that they were face-to-face.

"Are you…" she began, but stopped, seeming to be choosing her words carefully. "Are you all right? You haven't looked well at all today, but I hadn't gotten the chance to ask you…"

Takato's eyes suddenly found their footwear rather interesting as he bowed his head. "I'm fine…"

"You're not a very good liar," she said, obviously unconvinced. After he didn't replied, she went on. "I heard what happened… last night."

"Which version?" Takato asked sullenly, looking back up at her.

"Several," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Listen, I know you couldn't do something like that to someone… it's just that Katoki himself hasn't helped matters."

Takato arched an eyebrow. "Katoki? But he's…"

"He may be laid up in the hospital," Juri said, "but one of the main things he's apparently been screaming about is that it's all your fault. I wouldn't believe too much in what he says, though."

"Why…?"

"Whatever happened to him seems to have done something to his mind," she said. "He apparently keeps screaming that a demon or a monster is what attacked him. A demon or monster commanded by _you…_ and this was apparently _before _they gave him enough painkillers to knock down an elephant." Juri paused and smiled sweetly. "Of course, that's just silly, isn't it?"

Takato tried as best he could to hide his surprise and nodded. "Yeah… silly…"

"Don't worry, I know about what actually happened," Juri said, "my step-mother stopped by your bakery early this morning and heard about it from your mom." Before Takato could speak another word, she made a sudden exclamation. "Oh! Um… you know that sketchpad of yours that got dumped in that puddle yesterday?"

"…what about it?"

"I didn't get the chance to get to you yesterday because of… um, everything that happened," she said slowly, "but, well… I sort of picked it up…"

Takato blinked hard. "You what?"

"I know you probably thought everything in it was ruined," she said, "but most of it was okay once it was dried out! So I figured if you wanted to stop back by my house I could give it back…" She stopped again, seeming somewhat embarrassed. "Uh… I hope you don't mind, but I looked at a couple of them… they're actually quite nice…"

Takato looked away and rubbed his head to further obscure his face with his arm to hide his sudden blush. Most of the things in there was a digimon of some sort… just thinking about it brought back a rush of memories with everything that happened the day before…

_"It is quite far from a game, Takato. It is reality."_

Yamaki's words rang in his head. It _wasn't_ a game, or a source of amusement anymore…

"Don't worry about it," he muttered, "just keep it…"

Juri's happy face suddenly became confused. "But… why wouldn't you…"

Takato's hand tightened around the strap of his school bag and he just started walking past her. "I just… don't want to think like that anymore…"

He continued on without any interference from her, and a quick look back when he was a fair distance away told him that she was still standing there, and still looking confused. He sighed and looked ahead again. He hated doing that, but he just didn't want any more reminders… he had enough of those.

After thinking it over briefly, Takato decided to take a different route home that day. He didn't really want anyone that knew his route following him today…

Takato felt this was a good time to collect his thoughts and figure out what he was going to do. Yet his thoughts didn't go to what he _should_ have been thinking about. Rather, they shifted to Juri. He had actually known her for awhile, since grade school. Her and Hirokazu... but things were different now. She had such a large circle of friends now that everything just... wasn't like it was back then. If any of her friends ever saw Juri talking to him, he would just simply get these... looks from them. He would then typically find a way to get out of the conversation quickly. She had her friends, and if she was happy, he was happy. Yet, she still stuck up for him whenever he needed it... He just didn't get it. He didn't think there was anything special about himself, while she was popular, pretty…

On that last thought, Takato's thoughts screeched to a halt. _I _really_ don't need to go there. It's not like I'd stand a chance, anyway…_

He shook his head and then took in his surroundings. He had been walking for a bit, and almost didn't recognize where he was for a second. After getting his bearings, he turned down an alleyway and continued on.

There were other matters he had to contemplate… such as the digimon. Impmon…

Takato couldn't even think of where to look for that thing. He desperately wanted answers to his situation, but where on Earth could he look for something like that? He thought briefly that his D-Ark could possibly help, but he didn't even know how to _work_ the thing…

_Maybe I should just not worry about it,_ Takato thought. _If there's nothing I can do to find him, then what _can_ I do?_

"Damn, you're too easy Matsuda!"

Takato immediately recognized the voice coming from behind; it was Norio! Not long after registering this fact, the young man suddenly found himself being grabbed from behind by his muscle-bound schoolmate. A simple look ahead allowed Takato to see Yasuo at the end of the alley he was about to exit. They must have been following him, and he never even noticed…

"Heh, Katou just saying a few words to him made him such a lovesick puppy he didn't notice me until I was practically breathing on him!" Norio chuckled as Takato thrashed and tried to get away. This was, sadly, a futile attempt.

"Shut up!"

Yasuo grinned. "Matsuda, Matsuda… there's no need to be rude…"

"I didn't do anything to Katoki!" Takato growled.

"Yeah, that _sounds_ good," Norio said, tightening his grip on Takato. "You've had this coming …"

Takato couldn't find any words to express his anger out loud at that moment. _I haven't done anything to them… I don't deserve this… If I could just get free… I'd… I'd…_

His rage was growing by the second… he just wanted to get free… lash out… make them _suffer_ for tormenting him when he didn't deserve it…

"I'd let him go if I were you."

The new voice cut through the air, stopping Yasuo just as he was about to deliver a punch. Norio turned around, dragging Takato with him, and they saw the voice's source. It had come from a teenager Takato's age, wearing the same school uniform as the rest of them. His hair was blue, and his eyes were gray; both of which were staring ahead intensely, but Takato could tell the young man wasn't looking at him.

"And who the hell do you think you are?" Yasuo snarled.

The blue-haired teenager let out a long breath and began to walk towards them. "I said let him go," he stated, dropping his school bag to the ground and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Please. That'll just make things easier."

Yasuo stepped around his younger brother and grinned. "You mean for you and this punk?"

The young man stopped, gray eyes locked with Yasuo's brown ones. "No. For you."

The cocky expression on Yasuo's face twisted, anger and annoyance becoming quite apparent. "Heh, really? Is that so? We'll see about that…"

Saying nothing else, Yasuo charged the young man, who didn't even flinch at the action. Yasuo pulled his fist back, preparing to slam it into the blue-haired boy… but he never got the chance. Yasuo stopped in his tracks as the other teenager's foot came up to meet his stomach with a swift kick.

The blue-haired young man looked into Yasuo's now shocked, pained face and sighed. "Sorry." With that word, he tossed Yasuo into the nearest wall with another small kick.

All became silent as the young man lowered his leg back to the ground, but that was momentary. Norio released Takato, tossing him to the ground, and stepped slowly toward the blue-haired teenager.

"Hey, wait a second," Norio growled. "I know you… you're Lee, aren't you?"

The other young man just nodded a bit. "Yeah. Now, could you get your brother up and go?"

The answer to this was obviously "no" as Norio screamed and came charging at Lee. Looking exasperated with the situation, the young man stood his ground. Just like his brother, Norio prepared to punch Lee… and just like his brother, soon found himself getting tossed into a wall with a kick.

"So," Lee said as the two brothers tried to regain their senses, "are we going to keep doing this?"

They rose up, back onto their feet. Both were seething with anger, and Norio in particular looked as if he was ready to rush Lee again. But then, his older brother placed an arm in front of him, shaking his head. "No," Yasuo said, "just forget it. This isn't worth wasting our time just to get to that little shit."

Norio was huffing deeply, and seemed ready to ignore his brother's words… but he didn't make a move on Lee. Instead, he just glared at Takato before stomping out of the alley, his elder brother trailing behind him.

Takato continued to sit on the ground, taking in everything that had just happened. That was the third time in the past two days someone had appeared and saved him. Juri, Impmon, and now this guy…

_Am I really that pathetic…?_

"Hey, are you alright?"

Startled, Takato looked up. The blue-haired young man's expression had changed immensely. Rather than the calm, serious look he held before, his expression was now bright and cheerful. He extended a hand down to Takato, which the other teenager took.

"That was a close call," Lee said, lifting Takato up to his feet.

"Uh, thanks…" Takato mutter, "Um… Lee? Is that right?"

"Lee Jenrya," came the reply, "you can call me Jen. You're Matsuda Takato, right?"

Takato's eyes widened. "How did you…"

Jenrya grinned. "Oh, I've seen you around." He turned and walked back to where he his schoolbag lay on the ground. "You should really be more careful, though. Pay more attention to your surroundings…" He scooped the bag up and looked back at Takato, still smiling. "Just watch out for yourself, you hear me?"

As Takato nodded silently, the other teen began to walk away. "Thanks," Takato sighed, though he knew Jenrya couldn't hear him now. After retrieving his own bag, he continued on his way, though now more careful to watch his surroundings.

_I can't even defend myself properly,_ Takato thought bitterly as he turned down a sidewalk._ I can't seem to do _anything_ right these past two days… and it's not as if I've even been _trying_ to do anything! Yet, now I'm expected to do something I don't even know _how_ to do… how does that Yamaki guy expect me to find one little creature in Tokyo, of all places?_

"Wow," a voice muttered, causing Takato to stop cold. The brown-haired teenager followed the voice to a spot on a fence between two buildings he had been passing. Sitting on it, with a rather disgusted look on his face, was Impmon. "If you're my Tamer, and _that's_ the best you can do… I think I got screwed."

* * *

Onodera Megumi nearly spat the coffee in her mouth all over her console as warnings started blaring like mad all around. The blonde woman in her early twenties wasn't generally too easy to surprise. She was really a bundle of seemingly endless energy, and ready for anything at a moment's notice. However, the _last_ thing she had been expecting was this…

"Another Realization?" her operating partner, Ootori Reika, exclaimed as she rushed over to her station. "That… that doesn't make any sense! We just had one last night!"

Reika was right. It _didn't_ make any sense, and that fact was the cause of Megumi's surprise. Though a constant threat, the Realization of digimon rarely came close to each other… There would usually be at least a few days in between their appearances, and sometimes even longer than that. For one to appear so suddenly after the previous one…

_Of course, the last one wasn't exactly ordinary…_

"It's already breeched completely," Reika growled, "we can't do anything ourselves."

Megumi nodded. "Right, I'll-"

"Don't."

Both women turned around to find Yamaki, who had apparently entered the chamber in the chaos.

"What?" Megumi asked, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Don't send Jenrya or Ruki," Yamaki stated. "Contact them, tell them to come in. But make sure they don't engage in this battle."

"But sir," Reika said, concern rising in her voice, "the only other ones in the area are-"

Yamaki smirked and cut her off. "If all else fails, she can take care of herself, I would hope… but it's important that we make sure of something…"

* * *

"Im- Impmon!"

Impmon nodded. "Well, at least you're smart enough to figure out my name…"

"I…" Takato began, but then stopped and blinked. "…what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothin'," Impmon shrugged. "Other than the fact those two punks snuck up on you and nearly pounded you to a pulp. Geez, that's… what? The second time in the past day you've nearly got your ass beat?"

Takato almost said "third", but quickly thought better of it. "You're… really a digimon, aren't you?"

"Well, I sure as hell ain't no human, am I?" Impmon asked sardonically. "What else do you _think_ I am?" The small demon just shook his head. "Feh. This is just great. I actually get a Tamer, and he just winds up being some weak willed, wimpy-"

"HEY!" Takato exclaimed, becoming quickly annoyed with the insults the demon was lobbing at him. He was rather grateful there didn't seem to be anyone around to see him arguing with a monster, but at the moment, he also probably wouldn't have cared either way. "I didn't ask for any of this! I was just told I was supposed to find you… it's not like any of this is my fault!"

"Whatever," Impmon sighed, glaring at the human. "Damn. Y'know, I heard stuff about Tamers that had appeared in the Digital World before… thought they were supposed to be great warriors or somethin'… but you… You're just a scrawny little stick figure that can't go five minutes without being smacked around like someone's bitch.."

"…I'm _what_?"

"You heard me!"

Takato growled, and prepared to retort, but paused as he realized something. "Wait… I'm your 'Tamer', right?"

"Unfortunately."

"Hah!" Takato exclaimed, whipping out his D-Ark. "That means you have to listen to me!"

For just a few seconds, Impmon's face was blank. Expressionless. Then, he promptly burst out laughing, falling off the fence and landing at Takato's feet.

"What's so funny?" Takato asked.

Impmon sat up, holding his gut as he continued to chuckle. "You think that I'm just gonna obey you like some stupid little pet?"

One of Takato's eyes began to twitch. "Fine. Then just go back wherever you came from and leave me out of all of this."

He didn't need this. Some cocky little monster wasn't going to just insult and belittle him. He was sick and tired of people treating him like that… he had no reason to take it. So, he turned around and prepared to head back towards his home…

"Err, um," Impmon's voice suddenly became a little nervous. "Well, y'see… I can't exactly do that… I'm kinda stuck here… so, eh-heh…"

Takato stopped. He couldn't help but smile a bit, though it was unseen by Impmon. "Oh. Really?"

"Yeah, so… uh…"

"Well, sorry to hear that. Hope you can find someplace to keep warm before night rolls around."

And he started walking again.

"Hey!" Impmon screamed and ran up beside the young man. "Just what do you think you're doin'? You're not just gonna leave me out here to freeze my ass off tonight, are you?"

Takato stopped once more and looked down at the demon. Impmon actually looked sort of… scared at the prospect of being stuck outside with nowhere to go. At the same time, however, everything Impmon had just said before that was still fresh in Takato's memory. Only when the topic shifted to something that wasn't in Impmon's favor did the creature start to get worried.

"And what can I do?" Takato said, his voice a low growl. "After all, you said it yourself. I'm just some 'scrawny little stick figure that can't go five minutes without being smacked around like someone's bitch.' Right? Or do you think I'll just give in because I'm 'weak willed?'"

Takato was honestly surprised with how honest he was being towards this creature, not trying to cover up what he felt in fear of something bad happening. At this point in time, though, he didn't really_ care_ what the digimon might do.

Impmon gulped. "H- hey, c'mon now… no need to be like that, man… I was just jokin', y'know?"

"Joking," Takato said, deadpan.

"Yeah!" Impmon exclaimed, forcing a grin. "I mean, you can take a joke… can't ya?"

Takato opened his mouth to reply, but stopped, thinking everything over. He then bowed his head. "No. Not like that. Now just leave me alone and go find someone else to bug. I don't need this. Please…"

Impmon just stared at him with his mouth hanging open. Given Takato's responses before, he obviously expected something more forceful. Instead, the young man's response was soft and a little pained.

Impmon blinked and shook his head vigorously. "Fine! Whatever," he said, crossing his arms. "I don't need no stinkin' human… I don't need no one!"

Takato suddenly smiled lightly. "That's good…"

The small demon seemed even more surprised with this response than the last. "Wha…"

"It's good that you don't need anyone," Takato murmured. "That you're strong enough _not_ to need someone… unlike me…" He then sighed and turned away.

"Uh… kid…"

"Bye," Takato said quickly, preparing to try and get away before Impmon could say anything else. He failed to do so, though, as a sudden wave of heat washed over them. The cool, autumn air vanished, and it felt as if they were in the middle of summer. Takato's feet just froze in place, and he glanced around them. "What the…"

Then he saw it. In the middle of the street was a cloud, just like the one Impmon had appeared from. Only this one was much larger. Just as the one the night before, this one formed into something… namely, a big, blue skinned dinosaur. All Takato could really focus on was the thing's large mouth, and the many sharp teeth that lied within it. This was most certainly _not_ a plant eater, and the last kind of thing he wanted to see right now.

_That's an… Allomon…_

"Well… uh… yeah. Seeya!" Impmon exclaimed before running away as fast as he could go. After a few short moments, though, he stopped and shouted back at the boy. "Hey kid! What the hell are you doin'?"

Takato couldn't move. He was like a deer caught in the headlights as he stared at the Allomon's maw. The dinosaur digimon snarled and began to step forward, eyeing the brown-haired young man intently. There was no way he could escape from something like that by just running… was there?

However, Takato found himself snapped away from his trance as he saw Impmon jump back in front of him. "Damn," the little demon cursed, "I can't believe I'm doin' this…" At the sight of the smaller digimon returning, the Allomon paused, eyes shifting to him. As the beast began to growl louder, Impmon was visibly shivering.

"Ye- yeah, you just do that, big boy," Impmon spat, extending a hand. "And eat this! SUMMON! FLAME!"

A fireball, just like the one he had tossed at Yosuke, flew out of the ground. It crossed the distance quickly and smacked the Allomon right between the eyes.

The large digimon barely even flinched. It did, however, obtain a growing look of rage, and looked poised to charge towards them at any second.

"…I think I pissed him off."

Takato gulped as Impmon spoke. "Really? You think so?"

With an earth-shattering roar, the Allomon started to lunge forward. There would have been no way for either Impmon or Takato to run away from the beast now… it would only be a matter of seconds before it reached them…

"CLUB ARM!"

Something suddenly smashed into the back of Allomon's skull, causing its eyes to bulge out a bit. Both Takato and Impmon watched in shock as the dinosaur fell forward, its face smashing into the hard concrete.

Behind Allomon now stood another beast. Though only half the other digimon's size, this new creature looked rather fearsome itself. Its body was covered almost completely in brown fur, and on its head were three horns. However, there was one thing that gave Takato a feeling this new digimon wasn't a cause for alarm…

Standing next to the beast was a girl who looked to be a few years younger than Takato. She had brown hair and wore a dark blue school uniform… but what stood out to him was what she held in her hand: A D-Ark. Just like his in every way but its color, which was pink rather than purple.

"WENDIMON!" the girl exclaimed as Allomon began to stir. "Don't let that thing hurt them!"

Takato sunk down to his knees, looking at his own D-Ark. Most people in his situation would have been happy right then… and yet he couldn't bring himself to be.

_Saved again,_ Takato thought._ I was saved again… I couldn't do anything… again…_

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

_"The girl and the beast… the guy who saved me… the young woman with red hair… I know that they all hold some part in this, but what? As things finally begin to unravel, I find that the answers only make things worse… The digimon's nature becomes clear… and then, I see a girl in black…"  
**Next: Realization 03- "Hypnos"**_


	4. Realization 03: Hypnos

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.

* * *

_How did I come to this point…? A few days ago, I was just ordinary… There was nothing exceptional about me. I wasn't well known in school, or popular… and in fact, I was more of a punching bag than anything else to some people, but I was content… wasn't I? _

_Why did all of this happen so suddenly? How did this game… these monsters… these digimon… how did they all come to life? How am I a 'Tamer'? What is the point of all this?_

_And why… _why_ can't I do anything for myself?_

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 03- "Hypnos"  
_ By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Someone had saved him… again… Juri, Impmon, Jenrya… and now, this girl that was _younger_ than him and the beast she had called 'Wendimon'…

Takato just sat on the sidewalk with Impmon beside him, watching the events unfold. He was just too dumbstruck by the whole ordeal _to_ do much of anything. With how things were playing out for him, as well, he didn't really feel as if he could…

Although the dinosaur seemed to have been hit rather hard from behind, Allomon was getting back to his feet. Needless to say, the last thing someone should generally do is piss off a twenty foot dinosaur. Thus, the creature looked ready to tear apart the next thing it saw as it got up.

"Wendimon!" the girl exclaimed. "GO!"

Not even giving Allomon the chance to get back upright, Wendimon dashed for the other beast. Allomon appeared to be far from stupid, though, and spun around swiftly, striking Wendimon with his tail. Not having had the opportunity to put up a defense, Wendimon was sent flying and crashed into the pavement further down the street. Due to both his size and the force that he was flying at, he crushed the pavement beneath him.

The girl openly cringed, but not from just sympathy… it was as if she had just felt pain herself. "Wendimon! Hold on! I'll-"

The Armor level digimon suddenly gave a roar, and then dashed down the street for the downed Wendimon. Allomon wasn't ready to show _any_ mercy, as he seemed prepared to just tear his enemy apart with his long, sharp teeth.

"CLUB ARM!"

Allomon was brought to an abrupt stop. Wendimon's right arm had just suddenly stretched out and slammed into the dinosaur's chest. As the arm retracted, Allomon just stood there with wide eyes while Wendimon jumped back to his feet. Before Allomon could react, Wendimon unleashed a might scream and started to slam his fists repeatedly into his foe's chest.

Allomon appeared helpless to do anything as Wendimon's brutal assault just continued on. The punches were so swift and fierce that there wasn't a _chance_ for him to do anything. And the blows kept getting stronger and stronger with no sign of letting up. Each punch pushed Allomon back across the street, and Takato could swear he heard the sound of bones shattering with each new attack.

Wendimon then changed tactics and tossed a fist into Allomon's stomach with all his might. This caused Allomon to finally double over and collapse to his side. As the creature hit the ground, he began to spasm in pain from the assault and cough up blood. The look in his eyes seemed… desperate, and seemed to be looking for any way it could to escape this beast it had been fighting.

The look of fear Allomon had surprised Takato greatly. If a human had just been through such an attack, the reaction wouldn't have seemed odd. In fact, it would have seemed natural. But for a creature like this digimon…

_Just how different are they…?_

Wendimon stared at the injured Armor level digimon. The furry beast's expression was completely unemotional. He had won. There wouldn't be any chance of Allomon continuing this rampage…

"CLUB ARM!"

Takato's eyes widened in shock as Wendimon's arm lanced out again at the defenseless dinosaur. The extending arm slammed violently into Allomon's neck, and with a rather sickening snap, it was broken.

Allomon's body no longer jerked around in pain, and instead just lied there before glowing. Then, his body blew apart into little particles.

Takato glanced back at the girl. Her expression was suddenly… sad. She seemed to understand why this had just happened, but seemed sad nonetheless… Sighing deeply, she raised her D-Ark towards the floating particles. "Data Load."

The particles swirled around briefly before flying into the girl's pink D-Ark. Then… there was nothing. It was over.

"Wow," Impmon murmured. "Wouldn't wanna meet him in a dark alley…"

"He just killed that digimon," Takato said softly.

"Uh, yeah," Impmon replied. "No shit, genius. What was your first clue?"

Takato's head jerked around and glared at Impmon. "He killed him. That Allomon was defenseless!"

Impmon shrugged half-heartedly. "Yeah, and so are you kid. Want me to kill you too?"

Takato just stared at his digimon with wide eyes.

Impmon blinked at him. "…its a joke. Geez. You _seriously_ need to develop a sense of humor along with that spine you're missing…"

"Um… hi?"

Takato and Impmon both looked up to see the girl and Wendimon staring down at them. Realizing he was still sitting on the sidewalk, Takato jumped to his feet, dusting off his pants. "Err… hi…"

The younger girl suddenly smiled brightly and grabbed his hand. "Oh, I hope you two are okay! I know we barely made it, but Megumi-san just called me about the Realization point a couple minutes ago, and I _thought_ Niichan and Ruki-san were supposed to be following you… I don't know _why_ they weren't here, but Megumi-san just told me to come, sooo… here I am!"

"Wait, who are you talking abou-"

"My name's Shuichon!" the girl exclaimed, not seeming to catch what he had been saying. "And this is my partner, Wendimon! Well, he's not _always_ Wendimon, but he is now… I know he looks scary, but he's actually really nice! You'd be able to tell that right away if you saw his Child form first, because he looks much nicer and cuter and-"

"How can she talk that much without hardly breathing…?" Impmon whispered.

"-well, anyway," Shuichon said, appearing not to hear what Impmon said either. "Yamaki-san told us that there was a new Tamer, so I'm very happy to meet you! You're… Matsuda Takato-san, right?"

"Uh-huh," Takato said, nodding and wondering when she was going to let go of his arm. She was still shaking his hand, and it was starting to go numb. "And… uh, this is Impmon. He's my partner… I guess…"

Shuichon looked down at Impmon, and then released Takato's hand. She clasped her hands together and smiled even wider. "He's so cute!"

"He's _what?_" Takato murmured in shock.

"I'm _what?_" Impmon roared.

Takato blinked as everything she had said sunk in. "…wait, you know Yamaki? And who are Megumi, Ruki, and your big brother?"

"Of course I know Yamaki-san, silly!" Shuichon replied. "He's the one that's brought all of us together! As for the others… well, as soon as you found your partner, we were supposed to bring you to Hypnos…"

"Hypnos?" Takato and Impmon both echoed.

She nodded cheerfully. "Yep! So, want to get going?"

* * *

Takato really didn't have any choice but to agree. He wanted answers, and at this point, this seemed to be the only way he was ever going to get them. He just had to wonder…

"Why do I have to wear a blindfold?"

He was presently being dragged along by Shuichon, and he knew that the same thing was happening for Impmon.

"I can't _believe_ I'm puttin' up with this," the small demon grumbled.

"Sorry," Shuichon said, and she sounded like she really _did_ mean it. "But I can't let you all know where we're going yet…"

Takato knew, at least, that they weren't outside any longer. There was no breeze, and he could hear their footsteps echoing off of walls. After a few moments more of being pulled along by the younger girl, they suddenly came to a stop. "Okay!" she said happily. "You can take them off now!"

Thankful for finally having the opportunity, Takato immediately yanked his blindfold off. He squinted at the sudden light, but adjusted quickly enough. It didn't take more than a couple of seconds to realize that they were in an elevator that had just started moving.

"About damn time," Impmon muttered irritably, yanking his scarf down from around his eyes and back to his neck.

"Must you be so rude? Shuichon _said_ we didn't have a choice."

The attention of both Takato and Impmon's eyes shifted to what was now sitting on Shuichon's shoulders. It was a brown and pink dog-like creature, with big black eyes, and three horns on its head. Impmon just snorted and turned his head away from them.

"This is Lopmon," Shuichon smiled. "He's Wendimon's Child level."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Takato," Lopmon said, his eyes shifting to toss a glance at Impmon. Somehow, Takato got a feeling that it wasn't much of a pleasure to meet the irritable demon…

"Um, likewise," Takato said quickly.

Shuichon's smile started to appear rather forced as an uncomfortable silence drifted over the elevator. "So, uh…" she began, but stopped and clapped her hands together as the elevator stopped. "Alright! We're here!"

As the large, metal doors opened, Shuichon spun around to exit… and then immediately jumped back and shrieked. A quick look found Yamaki standing right at the doorway.

Shuichon let out a breath and put a hand over her chest. "Sorry, you just scared me standing right there, Yamaki-sa-… shitsuchou."

Yamaki just nodded slightly, his attentions seeming more focused on Takato and Impmon. He merely motioned for them to follow him, and began walking away.

"Keh," Impmon grumbled as they exited and started following the man down a hallway. "He's not very sociable, is he?"

"…are you really one to talk?" Takato questioned.

Impmon gave his Tamer a dangerous glare, and Takato chose to just keep his eyes looking ahead instead.

Eventually, after walking through a series of hallways with so many twists and turns that Takato couldn't find his way back if he tried, Yamaki stopped. Before him was a pair of large double doors, and on the wall beside it was a small console, obviously for opening them.

"Now Takato, Impmon," Yamaki finally spoke. "I have a warning for you both. What you are about to see is completely classified. However, you also have no choice but to see it. You are not to speak to anyone about this place. _Anyone._ It does not exist, not in the eyes of the public. If you go against this warning, there _will_ be consequences. Understood?"

"Eh, whatever," Impmon shrugged.

"Um, okay," Takato replied meekly. "I also have a small question-"

"If you are worrying about your mother, Takato," Yamaki interjected, "you are at the police station being interviewed further for the gang attack last night. Understood?"

Takato's mouth just hung open a bit and he nodded, though Yamaki couldn't see it with his back turned.

Without any other words, Yamaki placed his hand on the screen of the console. A light scanned over it twice, and there was a small beeping sound that followed. The double doors then slid open, and Yamaki slipped inside the room they lead to. Takato looked at Shuichon with some slight hesitation, but she just smiled once more and followed Yamaki.

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Impmon asked.

"For once, we agree," Takato sighed. Nonetheless, the two of them went after the other three.

As soon as they were in, the doors closed, and Takato found himself gulping. The room they had just entered was a rather large chamber. It was also _dark_, lit mainly by a dark purple light and the glow of many computer screens. There were several rows of computer towers so big that a normal person could hide behind them. Wires running from those towers to several consoles were strewn out all over the floor. Takato knew that if he didn't watch where he was going, he would very like fall on his face.

On the far side of the room, in the center of a wall was the largest console and screen in the place. Takato couldn't tell what exactly was done with it, or _any_ of the stuff there. But he could determine it was likely the central place that they did… whatever they did.

"Welcome to Hypnos," Yamaki spoke, and Takato just then realized that Yamaki was looking at him again.

"Hypnos?" Takato questioned, taking another look around the area. "What _is_ this place?"

"Understandable question," Yamaki said, nodding. "Hypnos is an organization within the Japanese government that tracks digital activity. Computers, internet… with the way today's society is run, such an organization is necessary. Though other divisions of this organization specialize in other matters, and go under different names that may or may not be public, this is the central division of Hypnos. This section also specializes in something that no one else is truly prepared to handle…"

"Digimon," Takato said simply.

Yamaki nodded again. "As it stands now, there is only so much you can be told… Just because you are what you are does not mean you are entitled to knowledge of certain things. Not until you prove yourself."

"Not until I prove myself?" Takato asked, not really liking the sound of this. "And just what _am_ I?"

"I already answered that last night," the man said. "You are a Digimon Tamer. As for what that _is_, it's really rather simple, and something I'm sure you have realized by now… A Tamer is a human bonded to a digimon. You have the ability to assist your digimon in battle and make him stronger. Simple, as I said."

Takato clenched his fists tightly as he began to get a bit irritated. _This isn't really telling me much…_

Impmon yawned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know all that. But what the _hell_ does that have to do with you?"

Yamaki cast a look down at the little demon. If he hadn't been wearing those glasses in this dark room, Takato figured Yamaki would probably be seeing a rather irritated look. "You don't seem to listen very well. I said that Hypnos tracks digital activity, did I not? Digimon are digital activity, as has already been pointed out."

Impmon gave a low growl, but Takato spoke up before him. "I don't get any of this! Digimon has always just been a game… it doesn't make any _sense_ how they could be alive…"

Yamaki was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Have you ever heard the term 'truth is stranger than fiction,' Takato? All of this is very strange, yes, but it is also very true and real… You have seen it for yourself. You can't deny the fact that these creatures are living, and appearing in this world… you can't deny your connection to Impmon, even if you may want to. I honestly can't tell you why digimon are alive here and now… but not knowing _why_ doesn't change what is here right in front of us.

"What is most important is what you have seen and what you are. These creatures exist here and now. When they Realize into the Human World, everyone who could possibly be nearby is in danger. If something is not done immediately whenever a digimon appears, the results could be horrific. It should be rather obvious to you that most methods humans have of dealing with threats either won't be effective, or aren't safe to use in a place like this city…"

Takato looked over at Shuichon and Lopmon. It was _really_ obvious what Yamaki was getting at. "So you use… people like us?"

"The power that a Tamer gives their digimon is the only effective weapon against this threat," Yamaki stated. "The fact it has come down to this is not my choice, nor is it the choice of those who are Tamers… it is merely how things are, like it or not."

"I don't get this," Takato groaned, putting a hand to his forehead. "I never asked for something like this… I mean, how can I-"

"Wait a sec," Impmon cut in, glancing over at Yamaki. "Y'mean you just wanna boss us around and send us out playin' hero? Hah! I didn't come here for some stupid crap like that!"

Lopmon's large black eyes narrowed, and he leapt off of Shuichon's shoulders. "So you would merely stand idly by as inoccent creatures suffer at the mercy of beasts they cannot hope to combat?"

Impmon shrugged half-heartedly. "Hey, it isn't _my_ problem. I've seen a lot of shit since I've been alive, especially in the last year… If you're strong, you'll survive. If not, then you won't. Simple as that." He then smirked. "So it's not _my_ responsibility to watch out for a bunch of freaking humans."

"Your view of the world is flawed," Lopmon snarled. "It is not the fault of many who are helpless that they _are_ helpless, both in this world and the Digital World. In this world, only Tamers and their digimon have the sufficient power to protect those that don't even have the chance to protect themselves."

Impmon glared at the floppy eared digimon. "If these freaking humans can't protect themselves and digimon are trying to move in on their territory, then maybe that should tell you something, eh? Maybe everything that's happening is just to start gettin' rid of the dead weight…"

Takato's eyes widened. _Is that what he really thinks of us?_ What Impmon was suggesting wasn't a very pleasant thought… if these digimon kept coming in… and nothing stopped them… _How could he be so… so…_

"Your carelessness is just a mask for your fear," Lopmon stated, causing Impmon's expression to suddenly shift to surprise and then anger.

"Fear?" Impmon exclaimed. "Are you saying that I'm a coward, twerp?"

"That is exactly what you are," Lopmon said unflinchingly. "You are afraid because you know the source of this. No living thing could exist in the Digital World for any period of time and _not_ know about it. You know what is coming, and you are afraid of facing it…"

"You little bastard," Impmon snarled. "I'm not afraid of _anything_! No one! I'm gonna be the strongest, no matter what… and helping out these stupid weakling humans isn't gonna get that!"

"By making that choice, all you choose is death," Lopmon said.

The small demon growled, igniting a fireball on his fingertip. "Oh yeah? Is that so?"

"Impmon!" Takato shouted. "Hold on a minute!"

"I'm warning you," Yamaki said, his voice louder than before. "Make the wrong move here, and you're not going to come out from it alive…"

Impmon laughed. "Yeah, sure… whatever you say. There isn't _anyone_ here that's going to stop me from doing what I want… and right now, all I want to do is kick this punk's ass!"

With that, Impmon lunged across the chamber towards where Lopmon and Shuichon stood. The girl released a small scream, while the digimon just stood his ground.

Suddenly, a flash of yellow flew across the chamber… and the next thing anyone knew, Impmon was being held upside down by his leg by a tall, humanoid, fox digimon.

"Your level may be 'Child,'" the fox said, "but you do not have to act like one."

Takato's jaw dropped. "A Renamon…"

"Hmph," Yamaki grunted. "Cutting it close as usual, I see."

"If we had done anything sooner, Yamaki-shitsuchou," a female voice stated, "we wouldn't have known just how far he would go."

Takato spun around on his heel towards the direction of the voice. Stepping out from behind one of the large computer towers… it was a girl with long red hair tied behind her neck into a ponytail. She was the same young woman he had seen at the police station!

And who was behind her was even _more_ surprising; the young man that had saved him earlier that day, Lee Jenrya. Sitting on his shoulders was a creature much like Lopmon, only he had green and cream colored fur, and only had one horn on his head.

"I say you should've let them fight it out," the creature, which was a Terriermon, spoke. "Lopmon would've wiped the floor with him!"

The young woman rolled her eyes. "I think it would be preferable that we _not_ tear apart expensive government equipment."

Terriermon chuckled a bit. "Uh… yeah, guess that's a good point."

Takato shot a look over at Shuichon. "_That's_ your big brother?"

Jenrya scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously. "Yeah. Sorry about not telling you before, but I was under direct orders-"

"BITCH!" Impmon's scream cut Jenrya off, and brought everyone's attention back to him, his free limbs flailing wildly. "Let me go!"

Renamon scowled deeply. "If that's what you wish."

She thus released him. Allowing him to fall right on his head. Impmon groaned loudly before the rest of his body toppled to the floor.

"Ow!" Takato cried, clutching his head as he suddenly felt a piercing pain shoot through it. "What the…"

"Pain from the digimon is transferred to the Tamer," the red-haired girl said simply. "And vice-versa."

"Takato," Yamaki spoke again before the boy could question her about that little fact, "I see you have already met Jenrya, so allow me to introduce you to Makino Ruki, Renamon, and Terriermon."

"Yo!" Terriermon exclaimed, waving a little paw.

Ruki just crossed her arms, glancing back and forth between Takato and Impmon. "…I _knew_ this wasn't going to turn out well."

"Ugh," Impmon grunted as he started to pick himself up. "Why you lousy-"

Renamon just stepped on him, giving him good reason not to make any sudden moves and shut up.

"Well," Ruki said, now focusing her gaze on Takato. "I can see what _he's_ going to be like, but what about you?"

"M-me?" the brown-haired boy gulped.

Her expression didn't change at all. "Your choice."

"I…" Takato blinked, thinking over everything he had been told. He didn't understand why this was happening… he didn't understand _how_… or why it was happening to _him._

"Let me ask you something," she said. "What is it in this world that is most important to you? Just think about that… Then tell me what you would do if that something was taken away from you and completely destroyed forever. Then, following that everything else around you followed… your home. Your city. Your entire world. Now ask yourself… what would you do to protect that important thing?"

_Mom,_ Takato thought. _If something happened to her… I don't know what I would do…_

"Well?" Ruki asked.

"I… would do anything," Takato stated. "To make sure that what's important to me is safe… I'd do anything."

Ruki smirked. "Well, then… can we take that as your answer?"

Takato paused and looked at Impmon. It wasn't just his choice… he couldn't think for someone else or make them decide on something they didn't want. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards Renamon and Impmon. Seeing him approach, Renamon stepped away from the small demon.

"Impmon, listen…"

"I told you," Impmon growled as he started to pick himself up. "I'm not responsible for all of these humans… I'm not… I just want-"

"To be stronger," Takato muttered. "Yeah, I know… but how would this stop you from getting what you want?"

Impmon stopped for a second and looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"How is it that you want to become stronger?" Takato asked.

Impmon blinked, and then looked away. "By fighting…"

Takato frowned. _What he wants isn't to avoid fighting… it's to avoid the responsibility…_

"How about," the boy spoke out loud, "we make a deal?"

The small demon glanced back with an eyebrow raised. "What kinda deal?"

"You help me," Takato said, extending a hand, "and I'll help you the best I can to make you stronger. You worry about fighting… and I'll worry about the responsibility."

Impmon just stared at him for a long moment, and then stood up, letting out a long sigh. "Much as I may not like it, I guess I'm stuck with you now, ain't I?" He reached out and took Takato's hand, shaking it. "Eh, what the hell? Can't hurt to give it a shot… not like I have anything better to do in this crappy world."

"So, I take it that's a yes from the both of you?" Yamaki questioned.

Takato nodded silently, while Impmon just shrugged.

"Good," the blonde man said, stepping towards them. "But now that we have that out of the way, there's still much to be done…"

Takato gulped. This was _definitely_ going to take awhile, and he was suddenly hoping the story about him being with the police was going to hold up that long…

"School is out tomorrow, so we'll begin then," Yamaki stated.

This caught both Impmon and Takato off guard. The both of them looked at each other, and then back at Yamaki again. "That's it?" Takato questioned.

"For tonight," the man replied. "As I said, there is still _much_ to be done… so we're going to need plenty of time to do it. Go home for now, rest. You'll need it. Just remember one thing… the both of you. You are not to breath a _word_ about this to any other living soul. Understand me?"

"Ye-yes sir," Takato stammered.

"Who the _hell_ am I going to tell?" Impmon asked.

"Okay then," Yamaki continued. "Don't feel bad about not saying goodbye to the others. You'll be seeing plenty of each other soon."

Takato blinked, not quite grasping where this was going now. "Eh?"

"Blindfolds!" Yamaki commanded, and Takato only just then realized someone was behind him as his world went dark.

"Aw, CRAP!" Impmon shouted.

"Someone will come get you in the morning," Takato could hear Yamaki say as they were shuffled out. "So be prepared."

* * *

Yamaki stared out the window of his office, a cigarette hanging from his mouth that he was preparing to light.

"You know those things are dangerous to your health," Ruki's voice suddenly came from behind him.

Yamaki glanced back briefly to see both Ruki and Renamon standing in front of his desk. He just shrugged and looked back out the window, lighting his cigarette as he did so. "Yeah, well at the rate things are going these days, I'll be dead long before these things do it to me." He paused and frowned. "That was a close one… if that had gone much further…"

"We may have had to kill them," Renamon said. "Of course, things still aren't done yet… with the way that Impmon acts, we don't know where this will lead…"

"Still, we don't have any kind of choice," Ruki muttered. "We have to believe that they're what we're looking for… they're the only ones that have been _close_ so far…"

Yamaki looked back at them. "You really think they're it, don't you?"

Ruki sighed deeply. "I told you, they're the only ones close to matching that power right now… but there's a long way to go. However this goes, we have to play it carefully…"

* * *

Eventually, Takato and Impmon were dumped on some random street corner. The ones who had led them out didn't stay long and hopped into a black van before speeding off. Thus, the two were left with no choice but to find their way back. After they figured out where the hell they were, at least.

That didn't take long, however, and they soon found themselves in the shadow of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and heading into a park. "So," Takato said at last after they had traveled awhile in the dark, "you're heading home with me?"

"And where else do you expect me to go?" Impmon snapped. "Stick me in some random little hole out in this park? Thanks, but no thanks."

Takato sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. But we're going to have to figure out how to keep you hidden from Mom… if she found you, she'd _freak._ I wonder if my closet's big enough…"

Impmon gave him a small glare.

"One hole or another. Take your pick."

Impmon groaned, smacking his forehead. "I can see _this_ is going to be fun…"

They traveled down a park sidewalk awhile longer before Takato spoke again. "Say… what is your world like? How is it different from this one?"

Impmon cast his eyes towards the ground. "It's a living hell. Trust me kid, you wouldn't like it."

The brown haired boy frowned. "I… see. So… are you glad to be here then, instead?"

Impmon glanced up at the sky. "Eh… s'not so bad so far, I guess." There was a sudden rumbling sound, and Impmon grabbed his gut. "But _damn_, I could use some food!"

Takato grinned. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard. I _do_ live in a bakery after all-"

"The time draws near… the light of the dark… the heart of the fear…"

Both Takato and Impmon stopped suddenly as they heard what seemed to be a girl's voicing singing. "What kind of freaky song is that?" Impmon questioned aloud as they both looked around. He then let out a small scream as Takato smacked him over the head and sent him flying into a bush.

The purple digimon's head popped out of the bush and he looked prepared to scream at the top of his lungs before Takato put a finger over his mouth and pointed up a nearby hill. Standing there, leaning up against a tree was a teenage girl. She had shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and wore a black dress. Even in the dim light that was provided around the park at night, her skin also seemed unusually pale. At that moment, she was just humming softly.

"Meh, she doesn't have anything to do with us," Impmon whispered. "Lets just get going…" He smirked. "Unless you want me to sneak up and scare the crap out of her. That could be fun."

Takato rolled his eyes, but then froze again as the girl stopped humming and spoke.

"There is no need to hide from me, Tamer Matsuda Takato."

The brown-haired boy spun around as Impmon hopped out of the bush. "What the…" Takato said. "How do you know about me?"

"I know many things about you, Matsuda Takato," the girl said just barely loud enough for Takato to hear. "About everything that is happening…"

"Are you with Hypnos…?" Takato asked. It was possible, of course, as Yamaki seemed to be keeping a lot from him…

However, the girl just closed her eyes and shook her head. "Everything is starting to come to the point where it will begin… you must understand that and be prepared."

"_What_ are you talking about?" Takato asked, now beginning to become frustrated.

Instead of answering, however, the girl just pushed off the tree and began walking away. Without even thinking, Takato went running up the hill as fast as he could with Impmon right on his heels. Yet when they reached the top, no one was there.

The young man rubbed his eyes. "Was I just seeing things?"

"If you did, then we both need to have our eyes checked," Impmon grumbled.

Releasing a very long breath, Takato went to head back down the hill. "Everything just wants to keep getting more and more confusing… why can't anything ever be _simple_?"

"Kid, lemme tell you something," Impmon said as he joined his Tamer. "There's hardly anything that's _ever_ simple."

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

_"Who is this girl, Makino Ruki? What does she know, and what has turned her into what she is? As ice rains from the sky, a demon of the cold speaks of the Legendary Tamers that once appeared…"  
**Next: Realization 04- "Snowfall"**_


	5. Realization 04: Snowfall

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei. Original characters (such as Kishimoto) and concepts (such as what I introduce at the very end of the chapter) are mine.  
**Notes:** I got the name of the second character in the first scene from Cynthia (with her permission), since I couldn't really think up one I could make WORK... So, thanks to Cynthia for allowing me to be lazy in that area this time. :p

* * *

Makino Ruki's violet eyes flickered as she stared down at the object held in her hands. Her lips quirked down into a small frown, and she wondered if this truly was it… if this was all that was truly left… 

So, with a heavy sigh the girl shoved a pair of chopsticks into her steaming cup of instant ramen and began stirring it. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'm starting to live on this stuff," she grumbled, her vision darting towards the cupboards. When she came in late, which was happening more and more often lately, there generally wasn't any time to fix anything elaborate. Thus, she generally went for the most convenient thing she could. And, the most convenient thing in this household always wound up being what she was slurping up into her mouth, somehow. 

It didn't help matters that someone seriously needed to go shopping, and she certainly didn't have the time right then… 

The redheaded young woman presently was situated in the tiny kitchen of the equally tiny apartment she called home. Most people she knew, particularly the types that attended her school, would likely complain about the place being cramped. It didn't really bother her, however, as she often found herself only in the apartment in recent memory to just sleep and eat… she had no time or opportunity to just lounge around the house… 

Renamon was another matter, of course. The fox couldn't stand to be cooped up in the small living space, and chose to roam outside in the nighttime. Ruki didn't mind this, as she knew the digimon could take care of herself and would always be back. 

The day had certainly been an… interesting one. It wasn't just the appearance of a new Tamer, either. 

_There's now been three Realizations within the course of three days,_ she thought. _Yashamon, Impmon, Allomon… it's coming. But it's coming so much faster than I ever expected, and the others aren't even close to being ready. Not even Jenrya. None of them are strong enough for this… not yet…_

That new Tamer, however… Ruki knew that there was something different about him and his partner. She just couldn't quite put her finger on it. She could tell what he had potential for, but… 

_There's a chance…yet something about this is bothering me… that partner… I wonder…_

"What? You're not even going to say hello?" 

The teenager blinked hard and realized she was so deep in thought that she hadn't even noticed what stood in front of her. It was a tall, broad-shouldered man with brown hair wearing a police uniform. This man was her father, Takumi. 

Ruki gave a small, nervous laugh. "Sorry Dad, just… have a lot on my mind, I guess." 

The man gave an understanding smile and took a seat across from her. "All things considered… I suppose I can relate. Just don't work your mind too hard. You're supposed to be able to relax at home, you know. I worry enough about you as it is, with everything that's going on…" 

Ruki nodded slightly. "I know, it's just… it's not that easy…" 

"I understand," Takumi sighed, and then looked thoughtful. "So, about that kid we brought in last night… how is he?" 

"Well, there's one other pressing matter I'd like to get out of the way first," Ruki said, then took on a stern expression and pointed her chop sticks to the cupboards. "What happened to going shopping this morning, out of curiosity?" 

Takumi's thoughtful expression broke rather abruptly, and he suddenly looked rather nervous in regards to this question. "Oh… yeah… was that today…?" 

"I thought the lack of food may have tipped you off," she said, deadpan. "Store. Tomorrow. You're going if I have to drag you there myself." 

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Realization 04- _"Snowfall"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Takato found himself rudely awoken by the sound of something quite loud. The young man jolted upright in bed, and on instinct and pure shock, his hands were flung out towards the source of the sound. He connected with something quite solid, and then heard a small scream followed by a thud. 

"You lousy son of a…" 

Takato rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his blurry vision, and glanced down at the floor. Sprawled out on it was Impmon, a large, metal pot in one hand, and a spoon in the other. If it had been any other time, Takato may have freaked out about the little demon making too much noise and raising the possibility of attracting his mother's attention. Or just what went into him getting the dishes he presently held. At that moment, however, with how tired he felt… he just didn't care enough to act like that. 

"Just what are you doing…?" Takato mumbled as the Child level digimon sat up. 

"Trying to wake your lazy ass up!" Impmon growled, dropping the spoon and rubbing the side of his face. "Of course, if I knew I would get punched clear across the room…" 

Takato didn't even give much of a reaction to that. He climbed out of his bed, ignoring Impmon as the digimon tossed various verbal insults at him that he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to. It was odd, he realized as he found a change of clothes in his closet and marched out of his bedroom, that he could already just so freely ignore whatever nasty things Impmon may have said like that. Whenever anyone at school had ever insulted him, it had always stung… yet with this digimon… 

_Because those insults feel empty…_

Takato couldn't quite grasp why he felt that, yet something in the back of his mind told him it was true. Impmon's string of cursing, mocking, and insults seemed to be never-ending, yet because of the way he lobbed them at his Tamer so constantly… they never seemed to hold any true meaning. Impmon had merely started insulting him when they first met, and since then… that had just been part of his way to communicate. 

Of course, "since then" had only been since the previous afternoon. It already felt like so much longer, and yet… it hadn't even been a day since Takato and his digimon had really come together. What felt like at least a week or longer had really only been a matter of hours... Everything that had happened with Impmon, Hypnos, the other Tamers... It was almost enough to overwhelm the boy. 

And it had come quite close to actually doing just that. The concept that was being presented before him... to be a protector for the world at large from monsters that leapt from another dimension... it would seem preposterous to most. He couldn't deny it though, as he had seen the proof right before his eyes... and he hadn't been left with any choice but to agree. 

So many parts of his mind were screaming at him, though. Telling him he was still just the same weak-willed school boy that got pushed around by bullies and merely wanted to sit off in a corner by himself to draw... He wasn't some superhero that went around fighting monsters. 

Yet, there he was, that responsibility now resting on his shoulders. All he could do was await the information on just _what_ he would be doing and accept it... he was a Tamer, whether he liked it or not. It hadn't taken much to convince him. Just that one question Ruki had posed... what would he do to defend the most important thing in the world to him? 

If just for that one thing, he had to do this... _I can't let anything happen to her, no matter what..._

As the teenager exited the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes on, he glanced at a picture hanging on the wall. It was a picture of his small family that was several years old, and Takato figured he was probably only around eight years old in it, at the very most. The boy in the photo had a wide grin as he stood in-between his smiling parents with their home in the background. Everything in it seemed so simple, so happy... 

_So how is it,_ Takato thought, _that we could be so oblivious to what kind of world we really live in? Everything that's happening that so few people know about with these digimon..._ He frowned briefly before looking at his father in the picture, and then an uncontrollable smile crossed his face. _Don't worry, Dad. I won't let anything happen. I'll make you proud of me, I promise..._

"And what're you so happy about?" 

Takato's head jerked around to see Impmon standing before him in the hallway, still wielding his kitchen utensils. Takato smacked his forehead and advanced on his partner digimon. "Give me those things!" 

Impmon merely shrugged as Takato snatched the pot and spoon out of his hand. "Whatever. Listen, wha-GAH!" The small demon shrieked as his Tamer grabbed him by the back of his scarf and dragged him back into the bedroom. Takato didn't release him until the door was tightly shut, and then just let go of him, allowing Impmon to tumble onto the ground. 

Impmon rubbed his throat and glared up at the human. "You lousy bastard! What do you think you're doin'?" 

"I thought we had an agreement," Takato said, remaining calm in the face of Impmon's screaming and cursing. "You were supposed to stay in _here_ for now. If my mom caught you, I don't know _what_ she would do..." 

Impmon crossed his arms and huffed as he turned around to face a wall. "Oh yeah, that's just _loads_ of fun, sitting around here in this cramped, dingy little hole in the wall..." 

Takato raised an eyebrow, recalling some of the small demon's words from the previous night. "Is that worse than making you stay in some hole in the park? Because, if you'd rather stay there..." 

Impmon's entire body twitched, and he rubbed the side of his head as he gave a nervous chuckle. "Well... uh... yeah, I suppose this is alright... for now." The digimon's head snapped around to look back up at his partner. "I ain't puttin' up with this for too long, y'know! I'm like a wild animal! I can't stay caged up for too long or else I'll go nuts! I'm _sure_ you don't want to see that..." 

Takato smiled lightly. "I'm sure I don't... now just quiet down for awhile, and I'll see if we can get out of here and figure out how we're supposed to meet up with the other Tamers today." 

"Yeah," Impmon said, scowling slightly, "you do that." 

Takato resisted rolling his eyes, and just smiled again with a nod. He then went out of the room, headed downstairs to the kitchen to deposit the pot and spoon, and then immediately darted towards the bakery. Takato knew that there could easily be some amount of difficulty in getting away from his responsibilities to find the other Tamers... Since there was no school that day, he thus would normally spend a majority of the day working with his mother in the bakery. Takato didn't _really_ want to try and find a way to worm out of it, but he also knew he probably wouldn't have much of a choice... 

Rushing as he was, however, he barely had enough time to stop as he nearly ran into a man carrying a large tray full of bread. Takato let out a small yell, while the man pretty much did the same and was hardly able to keep all the bread from flying to the floor. Takato took several deep breaths, and then blinked a couple of times. "Kishimoto-san...?" 

The man, who was in his mid-twenties and had short, spiky black hair, gave a sigh of relief as he stared down at the tray. "Dude..." he said slowly, "you realize your mom would have had both our asses if this stuff had gone everywhere just then, don't you?" 

Kishimoto was one of the people Takato's mother hired during the week to help when Takato himself was at school. The young man had been pretty down on his luck when he was first hired, and Takato sort of figured his mother had felt some sense of sympathy towards him. Especially considering how much he used to mess up in the kitchen. He had gotten better over time, of course, but there were still those times when those messes resurfaced... and this had nearly been one of those times. 

"Um, can I ask a question?" Takato said, scratching his head. "What are you doing here...? Aren't you usually off today?" 

Kishimoto gave the teenager a shrug. "Eh, your mom had me come in today. Said she was giving you the day off or something... said you needed it. Did you _seriously_ have a run in with some big gang? I mean, _man_... considering how that other guy got burnt to a crisp, you were lucky." 

A small cough was heard behind the black-haired man, and both males jumped as Mie appeared behind Kishimoto. "Yes, Takato, you have the day off," the woman smiled. "I figured after everything that's happened, you deserve it." 

Takato blinked hard. "But-" He then immediately stopped as he noticed something behind his mother. Standing in front of the large, glass windows in front of the building, Takato saw Shuichon. The girl was very bundled up, wearing a large, heavy jacket. She also had a backpack on, which looked rather... bulky. Considering the size of what appeared to be inside it, the boy quickly deduced just _what_ it was... 

Takato smiled at his mother. "Thanks Mom!" Then, before she could say anything, Takato dashed back the way he had came. Upon reaching the front door of the house section, he threw it open... and immediately regretted that act. He had found it strange that Shuichon was wearing such a heavy jacket, but as he stepped outside, he immediately realized why. His entire body suddenly felt like it had frozen over, and his teeth immediately began chattering. It was cold. Mind-numbingly _cold._

Blinking, Shuichon turned around from staring through the window to wave at the other Tamer. "Hi Takato-san!" 

Takato raised his shaking arm to wave back, realized he was wearing a t-shirt, and THEN realized how much of a moron he had to look like out there. "Be-be r-right b-b-back!" 

Needless to say, he didn't waste any time rushing back into the nice, warm, house and slamming the door to lock the cold air out.

* * *

Ruki leaned up against the brick wall of a small store, eyes staring aimlessly into space. Shivering, the young woman shoved her bare hands into the pockets of her jeans. It really was unusually cold, even for the time of year. It was fall and approaching winter, but something about this cold was... bothersome. She couldn't really pinpoint it, but there was something she _really_ didn't like about this... and she knew very well that whenever she had the feeling something wasn't right, there was most definitely something very wrong going on... This time, however, she just couldn't determine _what_... 

_It's only a matter of time, however,_ Ruki thought, her eyes now darting suspiciously around the crowded sidewalks that lined the streets. _Nothing can escape my sight or power for too long..._

"Ruki," a distressed voice called from the doorway of the store. She glanced over and found her father hauling a considerable amount of grocery bags. "Why is it that you came along, yet stayed out here and left me having to carry everything?" 

The redhead smirked as she pushed off the wall and walked towards him. "Well, I'm not the one that didn't go shopping like I was supposed to, was I? Someone had to make sure you stayed put, eh?" 

"Do you realize how much paperwork I had yesterday?" Takumi questioned in an attempt to defend himself. 

"Do you realize how much paperwork _I_ had yesterday?" Ruki said firmly. 

Takumi sighed deeply. "If there's one thing you got from Rumiko, it's that damned stubborn streak..." 

Ruki winked at her father and grabbed a couple bags from his hands. "I'll remember to tell Mom that the next time she's in town." 

"Yeah, yeah," he said with mock annoyance, but smiled at the same time. As the father and daughter headed down the sidewalk, the brown haired man looked to the sky. "Awfully chilly today..." 

Ruki was glad for the fact she was walking ahead of her father. That way, he couldn't see her expression suddenly become somber. "Yeah... that it is..."

* * *

"So, at what time last night did Japan move towards the North Pole?" 

Takato's question was met by a giggle from Shuichon. The two of them were just heading into Shinjuku Park, Impmon trailing behind them. The purple furred digimon retained his standard, irritable expression. This was probably prompted by his reaction to Takato's suggestion of stuffing him into a backpack that was slightly small than he was. Takato realized in hindsight that wasn't the smartest of suggestions... and to avoid being noticed, they had been forced to take a route to the park that took about twice as long. 

Takato rubbed his hands together through his gloves and shivered. Even despite the heavy jacket and multiple layers of clothes he now wore, he was _still_ cold. It was quite uncanny. He didn't understand how Shuichon looked so comfortable. 

"No clue why it's so freezing," Shuichon said with a half-hearted shrug. She then gave a bright smile. "Oh, but I hope it snows! I'd love to show Lopmon how pretty everything looks when it's snowing..." 

"Keh!" Impmon snorted. "What would be so great about that? It's not like he wouldn't have seen it in the Digital World... and know that places where everything's frozen over are pretty much deathtraps where idiots wander in, but don't wander out!" 

Shuichon frowned back at the small demon. "That's why I want to show him! He's told me about how horrible things are back there... I just want him to see how things can be different!" 

Impmon merely scoffed and crossed his arms, looking away from the girl and not saying anything else. 

Were things really that horrible there, Takato wondered? The way Impmon spoke of it, the Digital World seemed to be little more than hell itself... but it couldn't really be _that_ simple, could it? 

"There is something I think we could be missing, however," Lopmon's voice came from Shuichon's partially unzipped backpack. "This drastic shift in weather is familiar, and could indicate the presence of a Wild One..." 

Shuichon gave a small laugh. "Oh, come on Lopmon... if that was happening, Yamaki-san and the others would have called us! You can't think like that every time the weather changes!" The girl then came to a sudden stop and gave a squeal. "Niichan!" 

Takato and Impmon stopped as well, both of their eyes following where Shuichon was looking to discover Jenrya leaned up against a tree. Terriermon sat atop the teenager's shoulders, and Jenrya, like the two other humans, was dressed quite warmly. The blue-haired Tamer gave them a small wave, pushed away from the tree, and headed towards them. 

Takato smiled a bit as the other young man reached them. "You know, I think this is the first time I've seen you under normal circumstances." 

Jenrya grinned and extended a hand. "Well then, why don't we start from scratch? Lee Jenrya. Nice to meet you." 

Takato shook the other Tamer's hand, nodding. "That'll work. Matsuda Takato." 

As they broke their handshake, Jenrya immediately shoved his hand back into his pocket. Obviously, he wasn't handling the cold weather any better than Takato was. "And this is Terriermon," Jenrya said, glancing at his partner. "Try not to take him too seriously." 

Terriermon gave a look of mock-irritation. "Jen! I'm hurt..." 

"Uh-huh. I'm sure you are," Jenrya said with notable sarcasm. Terriermon just smirked and slapped his Tamer on the back of the head with one of his large ears. 

"While this is all well and good," Impmon said, stepping up between his Tamer and Shuichon, "what the hell are we doing here?" 

Lopmon's head popped out of Shuichon's backpack and sighed. "I see where this is going..." 

"Could you do me a favor and shut up?" Impmon said, his green eyes looking up to glare at Terriermon's doppelganger. 

"I shall when you give _me_ the same favor!" Lopmon shouted back. Shuichon gave a small groan and slapped her forehead. Takato was tempted to do the same, but just looked down at his digimon nervously. 

"Impmon..." Takato began, "remember what happened last night?" 

"What about it?" Impmon growled. "I could've taken this little pipsqueak if that damn fox hadn't got in the way!" 

Suddenly, Terriermon landed in front of the small demon, a deep scowl on what had just been a cheerful face. "Geez! Do you have to start a fight _every_ time you're interacting with civilized people?" 

Impmon bared his fangs and smirked. "Wanna make somethin' of it?" 

Terriermon mimicked his Tamer's sister, slapping his forehead. "Oh, look, a brick wall..." 

A fireball ignited on one of Impmon's fingertips. "Why you little...!" 

Terriermon held up his paws in defense. "Whoa, moumantai!" 

The fireball went out as Impmon blinked in confusion. "Mou... man... wha? Speak Japanese, dammit!" 

"Take it easy," Terriermon smiled. "Acting like that, you're gonna work yourself into an early heart attack or something." 

Takato looked away from the bickering digimon to Jenrya. "Hey, wait a second... where's Ruki and Renamon?" 

Jenrya frowned. "Probably not coming. Ruki is... well, she's not someone that really likes to interact much outside of actual missions. Though every new Tamer is important, odds are that with me and Shuichon here, you probably won't see her again for a little while... Though it was a different situation with me, she didn't actually meet with Shuichon actively until a week after she bonded with Lopmon." 

Takato was very quickly realizing this question was turning the entire mood of the whole meeting somber. Shuichon nodded to her brother, her happy expression having vanished. "Ruki-san is... I don't know. She's not a bad person, she just doesn't seem to want to interact with us normally..." 

"We've tried," Jenrya said, casting his eyes to the ground. "It's just... not easy. It's very difficult..." He looked back up at Takato, smiling lightly. Takato had the distinct feeling that was forced, however. "But hey, enough of that. There's a lot you want to know, I imagine." 

Takato nodded, trying his best not to let his thoughts linger on the previous subject. There _was_ a lot he wanted to know, and much he _needed_ to know...

* * *

She could sense it. So suddenly, so clear as day, she could see it as if it were right before her. An icy feeling of approaching death, lingering all around and threatening to jump out at any moment... That cold sensation of darkness... so familiar... and yet, new... 

Ruki came to a sudden stop, her entire body tensing. Her violet eyes were wide, a look of horror held deep within them. Takumi stopped as well, glancing over at his daughter. "Ruki...? What's wro-" 

"Get DOWN!" Ruki cried, breaking out of her trance to grab her father and pull him to the ground. Bags were dropped and groceries rolled around on the ground as everything felt like it was about to freeze all around them. In a sudden burst, a wave of white suddenly washed over the landscape, bathing everything in that one, solitary color... 

Ruki grunted and looked up to find Renamon standing in front of them. Her hand was extended, and in it was the fist of a small, humanoid digimon whose body was made entirely of white rock. In the rush appearance of this snow, this digimon seemed to have come with it, and was quick to attack the nearest thing... Thankfully, Ruki knew, Renamon was always one to act even _quicker_ and always be at her side when needed. 

"Ruki," Renamon said, holding the digimon in the air and at bay. "I see your sight is better than ever..." The fox's blue eyes narrowed, staring at the rock creature, which was obviously shocked by Renamon's mind-numbingly quick actions. "So you know this Icemon isn't the cause..." Renamon's other hand suddenly struck out, her claw driving into the Icemon's chest. The Icemon's eyes widened, but before it could even _scream_, it blew apart into data bits. Renamon didn't care to bother with the creature, and just spun around to face the Tamer and her father. "If it had been, that would have been so weak we could have allowed even Impmon to fight it." 

Takumi groaned, sitting up. As he did so, the snow that covered him fell to the ground, and he blinked. Hard. "What the _hell?_" 

"A Digital Field," Renamon murmured, looking around. Everything was covered in the snow. _Everything._ They were on a small street where no people were right then, but Ruki could only imagine the reactions that people were having all around the city right then... There was probably panic... Citizens that were injured... maybe even dead already... 

"This is it," Ruki sighed, rising to her feet. "We knew this was coming... but so soon..." She looked down at her father sadly. "Dad... I have to..." 

Takumi nodded and gave an understanding, if nervous, smile. "I understand, Ruki. Go on ahead. I think you know I can take care of myself." 

"Right..." she said. "I'll be careful, I promise." 

Takumi just laughed and slapped his knee. "Yeah, I'll believe _that_ when I see it!" The man glanced at Renamon. "Just watch out for her, okay?" 

Renamon nodded. "Of course." 

Ruki smiled at her father, and then gave her digimon a fierce look. "Well, we can't be waiting around then, can we?" With that, both Ruki and Renamon took off running. There wasn't going to be time to waste now... No sooner had they started running, though, did both of them hear a phone ringing in Ruki's pocket. 

"I think Yamaki's a little bit late," Renamon said as they rounded a corner. 

"Gee, that's a new one," Ruki said, smiling wryly. Grabbing the cell phone out of her pocket, Ruki answered it. "Hey. Bet you a hundred thousand yen I know what you're calling about." 

"Funny," Yamaki muttered irritably. 

Right in their path, two Icemon rose out of the snow as Yamaki spoke. Ruki, however, didn't pay them much mind. "Yeah, so, got anything interesting to say?" Renamon dashed forward at an astounding speed, slashing through both digimon with her claws. Ruki ran through the data bits as they vanished, smirking. "Because at this rate, it might not take us very long." 

"Get to Shinjuku Park," Yamaki commanded. "_Now_. The other Tamers are there, and-" 

Before he could finish, Ruki did something surprising. She screamed. The teenage girl dropped her cell phone, grabbing her face. Everything she saw seemed to just go away... instead, what she saw... what she felt... it was death. Not just the feeling of _approaching_ death... that was something she knew... it was death itself. Lives, souls... all being snuffed out, screaming as their life left their bloodied and battered bodies... all for the sake of something sinister... twisted... something that enjoyed that screaming, that suffering, that feeling of horror and pain... 

_"Come to me..."_

"Wh-who..." Ruki stammered as the voice came to her. 

_"Come to me, Seeing Tamer Makino Ruki..."_

Then, just as suddenly, everything went back to normal. Ruki found Renamon holding her by the shoulders, and heard Yamaki screaming her name as her phone lay in the snow. "Ruki?" Renamon asked softly. 

"This... isn't going to be good," Ruki sighed, kneeling down and scooping the phone out of the snow. "Sorry, Yamaki. I tripped." 

"Just get to the park as soon as you can," Yamaki said. "What we're tracking there... it's different from the other Wild Ones. This very well _could_ be just what we've been fearing..."

* * *

"And here I thought it being cold this morning was sudden," Takato gulped, shaking snow off of his body. 

Lopmon leapt out of Shuichon's backpack, looking all around the area. "This is not good..." 

"Now _there's_ the understatement of the year!" Terriermon said, his body tensed as he too looked around. 

"Niichan?" Shuichon asked, looking at Jenrya. "What just happened?" 

"Beats me," Jenrya said through gritted teeth. "Everyone, be on your guard... we don't know what to expect..." 

Surprisingly to Takato, Impmon had no sarcastic remarks. Instead, he did as Jenrya said while lighting up fireballs on each of his fingertips. "Bring 'em on..." 

All was quiet. Takato didn't dare try to make a sound, or even move an inch. It suddenly seemed like everyone knew what to do... except him. He thus figured it was best he kept his mouth shut. 

"Takato, I think we're going to have to save your questions for later," Terriermon muttered, and then turned sharply. "There! BLAZING FIRE!" A burning green ball of fire launched from his mouth, sailing across the ground and almost instantly melting away the snow that it neared. The fireball flew into a bush and an explosion erupted... which thus caught nearby bushes and grass on fire, despite the snow. But what he was trying to do worked, as three Icemon, as Takato recognized them, leapt out to dodge the blast, all landing in plain sight of the Tamers. Still, Terriermon stared at the fires he had created and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Whoops!" 

Sighing, Lopmon dashed forward. "We have no time for games... PETIT TWISTER!" The little bunny-dog spun around into a tiny tornado, as the name of his attack implied. In doing so, he slammed into one of the Icemon. It wasn't long after the strike that the rocky digimon blew apart into data, while Lopmon traveled around the nearby area and put out the fires with his twister. 

"Easy!" Impmon cried, lobbing his fireballs at the nearest Icemon. "NIGHT OF FIRE!" 

Unfortunately for Impmon, the Icemon wasn't stupid enough to just stand there and get fried. He leapt away, and dodged... only to get caught in Terriermon's sights. 

"BLAZING FIRE!" The Icemon was struck and exploded into data, leaving only one more. Not giving it time to do much, Terriermon ran for it, spinning around in an attack identical to Lopmon's. "PETIT TWISTER!" The Icemon _tried_ to dodge... but Terriermon moved faster, and the digimon soon blew apart, just like his comrades. 

Impmon's jaw hung open as Terriermon came out of his tornado. "I _hate_ you," the demon growled. Terriermon just smirked. 

Jenrya's eyes darted around. Snow was still falling, and actually beginning to come down _harder._ "Something's not right," he muttered. "There's never been more than _one_ Wild One in a Digital Field before..." 

Takato found himself pacing as his mind raced. He was growing increasingly nervous with each passing moment. What could he possibly do now? He was suddenly in this situation, and he was armed with no more knowledge than he had been before it... and if someone like Jenrya was suddenly so worried... 

Takato screamed as he found the ground beneath him now, within a matter of seconds, a solid sheet of ice. He thus discovered himself laying on his back, in a fair amount of pain, and staring up at the sky. "...what the..." He gave a loud moan of pain as he sat up, and looked over at the others. Shuichon started to slip and grabbed onto her brother... which thus sent both of them sliding into a tree. The digimon pretty much held their ground, though. 

"I think it's called 'ice,' kid," Impmon said. 

"Funny," Takato grumbled. 

"Everything's icing over..." Jenrya said with wide eyes as, indeed, everything around them was literally turning to ice. The ground, the trees... everything. The snow was certainly increasing in how fast it was coming down, too, and Takato couldn't really see very far in front of them... 

"You know, it's funny how things work out..." a deep, dark voice suddenly cackled. 

"What..." Takato began, and his words soon trailed into nothing as his mouth hung open. From the rapidly falling snow in front of him, a figure emerged. It was a human-like figure that was far too tall to really be human, with arms and legs that were also impossibly long for a human. He wore a white body suit with bandages and belts wrapped around various areas. But what got Takato the most was this thing's face... His red eyes that stood out against his white face and mask, and most of all... the horns coming out of his head. "A... a devil..." 

"IceDevimon," Jenrya said, reading information off of his D-Ark. "Fallen Angel Digimon, Virus Type, Adult Level..." 

IceDevimon's face contorted into a cruel grin. "Little Tamers... all of you gathered so neatly together... Truly, it is so very perfect..." 

"You're... you're the cause of this..." Takato said, too afraid to try getting up and running. 

"Yes..." IceDevimon chuckled. "My Ice Field is truly a wonderful thing, is it not? And it will look so beautiful when I bathe it in the blood of you six while awaiting what I am here for..." 

"What you're here for...?" Jenrya questioned. 

IceDevimon laughed again. "Yes... once that Legendary Tamer arrives, what I have will be in my sights..." 

Takato's entire body was shaking. He had started to sort of zone everything out at IceDevimon's mention of bathing the entire area with their blood. And all things considered, he was fairly sure this demon meant it. 

"But enough of that," IceDevimon said, eyeing Takato. "It's time to begin... she should be here soon..." The devil made a sudden movement and lunged for Takato. "FROST CLAW!" 

"TAKATO!" 

In the back of his mind, the boy was fairly sure that pretty much everyone had screamed that name... even Impmon, and he couldn't recall him having used that before... but needless to say, that was hardly the foremost thing on his mind. Takato went white with fear, and he found himself being able to do nothing more than scream... 

Then, in a blur, two figures dropped down in front of Takato. Immediately, he recognized them as Ruki and Renamon. Given how he was going, too, IceDevimon wouldn't be able to stop before he reached them. There was no way for him to stop slashing through the both of them at this point, and Takato was fairly sure he would have no _reason_ to stop... the two of them seemed as good as dead. 

However, Ruki merely held out a hand. "Sooner than you think," she murmured, and Takato saw something... crackle in her bare palm. "DRAW FIELD!" 

Takato's eyes went even wider, which he didn't think was possible, as he _saw_ energy appear and surround the three of them. It formed a sort of shield around them, and within that shield, the ice and snow beneath them vanished. IceDevimon's claw collided with the energy, and he screamed as the power fought him back and just tossed him away. The digimon caught himself from falling over, and glared at them... before he began laughing again. 

"Yes..." IceDevimon grinned, holding his hand, which was smoking. "You're here... finally..." 

"I have no idea what you want," Ruki said calmly as Renamon stepped forward, walking right out of the shield Ruki had somehow erected. The girl held up her blue & silver D-Ark, staring down at it and not really paying the white devil any mind. "But personally, I _really_ don't care. All I care about is how fast it's going to take Renamon and I to kill you." She grinned. "You're strong, and there are no civilians around, so... I'll give you five minutes, maximum." 

IceDevimon nodded. "Yes... I wouldn't expect anything less from the Legendary Seeing Tamer..." 

Ruki gave a light chuckle. "So you've heard of me... well, that just shows how stupid you are, doesn't it?" 

"I suppose," IceDevimon said, smiling. 

"Takato," Ruki said, glancing down at him. "I don't suppose Jenrya or Shuichon have had the chance to fill you in on any of your abilities?" Takato just shook his head, and she sighed. "Well then, I guess I'm going to have to use all of those five minutes... if you don't mind, I have to give the rookie here a lesson." 

The Adult-level digimon cackled. "Be my guest, my dear..." 

"Watch carefully," Ruki said, her grin twisting into a smirk. She held up two fingers and in a flash, an object appeared... it was shaped like a card, except it was made of glowing, red energy. "The latent power lying within all Tamers... the ability to utilize your mental connection with your digimon, and make your power _their_ power..." She brought the card to her D-Ark's side. "The thing that separates a Tamer Digimon's power from a little runt like him!" She slid the card across the D-Ark, and power seemed to just simply... erupt. 

"_PSI CARD SLASH!_" 

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Okay, lets do this one by the numbers!  
1) Ruki's "title" - Hm. Now that I think of it, this might be similar to a certain anime that's rather popular in fansubs right now. I wasn't trying to rip off that particular anime, as the idea of some sort of title had been in my head for awhile... this particular anime just showed me, "Hey! This can actually work!" The meaning of it and why it applies will become apparent as time goes on. This is of course, not counting the "legendary" part, which should be familiar to Tamers fans... but I won't spoil things here, of course. ;) Now, lets see if anyone understands what the hell I'm talking about...  
2) Psi Cards - I'll explain it when I'm damned good and ready! ... ahem ; ...I will say, however, that this is something I've worked hard at trying to make fit properly. One of the primary things about Tamers is the inclusion of cards, and it wasn't something I could ignore for this AU. However, the cards as they worked in the anime aren't something that would really work in this world setting, which I'll go more into in the next chapter's notes.  
3) Dude, what the hell took you so long- Work. And writer's block. Which I just blew out of the freaking water. Woohoo:D  
But, anyway... that's that. Constructive criticism or comments are, as always, welcomed and encouraged. (And yes, I know my chapter previews are pretentious. :p ) Seeya next time.

* * *

_"The latent power in all Tamers... The mental connection between them and their digimon... The shared pain and hearts... All of it comes together as both an asset and a curse. As that power is unleashed against the backdrop of the frozen wasteland, the stone-faced mask of confidence begins to crack..."  
****__Next: Realization 05- "Psi"_


	6. Realization 05: Psi

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Edits, 7/24/05:** Psi Card names have been adjusted a tad to reflect changes later on.

* * *

Snow crunched beneath Ruki's shoes as she dashed across the ground, moving as quickly as she could without slipping. "We're getting closer to the source," Renamon said calmly as she easily ran alongside her Tamer. 

Ruki gave a small nod. They were entering the park. It would only be a little bit further... "We're also getting closer to the others," she muttered. "Their power... right now it isn't enough..." Holding up one hand, two glowing cards of energy, one red and the other gray, appeared between her fingers in a flash. 

"Element Card, Flame Fusion Level-One," the young woman said, eyes glancing to the red card. "Aura Booster," she glanced at the gray card, and then moved the two of them together. "DOUBLE COMBO!" There was another flash, and the two cards became one with red and gray energy flowing together. Silently, Ruki closed her hand around the card, and it vanished from sight. She then glanced up ahead as they came upon a hill. 

"Renamon," she murmured. "That power... it's rising. We can't waste anymore time." 

Renamon merely nodded and grabbed Ruki around the waist. Ruki wasn't sure exactly what they were about to leap right into, but if there was one thing she trusted no matter what, it was Renamon. With an incredible speed and swiftness, Renamon effortlessly shot off the ground and into the trees, bounding from limb to limb across the park. 

It was getting colder and colder... this Wild One was close. 

In some respects, something in the back of Ruki's mind made her almost wish they weren't so close... _This one is different,_ she thought. _Very different... but why can't I put my finger on it? Why can't I see it...?_

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 05- "Psi"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

"Lord, it's cold in here," Megumi grumbled in a low voice. The young woman shifted in her seat and rubbed her hands together, wishing... _praying_ someone would just turn the blasted heat up. 

_Click._

Megumi frowned and sighed. "Yamaki-shitsuchou..." 

The man that now stood behind Megumi and her partner, Reika, just gave a grunt. "If you think it's cold in here, then just imagine what it's like out there." 

_Click._

Megumi turned her head sharply to look at Yamaki. The blonde man merely stood, expressionless, continually opening and shutting his silver lighter. She found herself squeezing her clasped hands tighter and her fingernails digging into her flesh... She couldn't express how thoroughly annoying that was, particularly at a moment like this. 

"Have something to say?" Yamaki questioned, not even looking at her. Or at least, she didn't think he was. It was hard to tell with him wearing those dark sunglasses 

Megumi just gave another sigh and turned back to the monitor she sat in front of. He was so focused on this Realization that it was probably best for all their sakes not to bother with him. "No sir..." 

"Yamaki-shitsuchou!" Reika suddenly shouted. "There's a sudden energy flux!" 

"It's from... um," Megumi glanced around at the large monitor, and at her station. "It's coming from-" 

Yamaki gave a light chuckle. Megumi took a quick look behind her to see him actually smirking. "Ruki."

* * *

_"PSI CARD SLASH!"_ Ruki cried as she slid the glowing card of energy alongside her D-Ark. _"FLAME AURA!"_

In a flash, power surged from the Digivice. Renamon, standing outside the force field Takato and Ruki were in, seemed to stiffen momentarily before flames suddenly erupted around her. The flames covered her body, not harming it, but practically creating a barrier of fire. The snow and ice surrounding her began to melt away, and IceDevimon just looked on silently as white surroundings became red from the intense fires around the fox. 

"Wh-what..." Takato stammered as he came to his feet. "What on Earth..." 

"This, Takato," Ruki said, "is a Tamer's power. All of us have it... even you." 

"But... what... how..." 

Ruki sighed slightly, not looking back at the young man, and keeping her sights dead on IceDevimon. "Let me try and give you a quick rundown," she said, waving a hand around at the force field surrounding them. "This is a Draw Field. It is, in essence, a Digital Field much like the ones digimon appear in. The difference is that it counteracts all digital matter except for your own partner. It'll neutralize a Digital Field's effects around the immediate area of your body, and protect you if a Wild One tries to attack you while you're assisting your digimon." 

IceDevimon smirked lightly. "Four minutes." 

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten," Ruki said. "Which brings me to the next point... You know about the Digimon Card Game, right?" 

"Yeah..." Takato murmured, still trying to absorb what Ruki had just told him. 

"In effect, what I just did has the same principal behind the power ups in that game," Ruki said, gripping her D-Ark tighter. There was a small flash, and another energy card appeared in her free hand. "Psi Cards. The power that lies within each of us is manifested through these cards, and transmitted with the mental link you have to your digimon." 

"But... I don't have any kind of power..." 

"Yes, you do," Ruki said. "Whether you know it or not... this is the key to what makes a Tamer important in a battle like this. _You_ are the deciding factor between victory or death. There is no in-between. There is _never_ an in-between. As your power grows, their power will grow." 

Takato held his head. He could distinctly feel a migraine coming on. "Okay, you're telling me all this... but why do I still feel like I don't know what you're talking about?" 

"Heh," Ruki gave a small smirk. "You'll figure it out... You can find what you have available to you on your D-Ark, and from there, you just have to... think about it." 

"Three minutes, Ruki," IceDevimon spoke again, a bemused expression on his face. "I merely figured it would be polite to allow you the first move..." 

The redhead grinned. "Oh, that's all we'll need..." 

Takato took a quick look at the other two Tamers, their digimon, and Impmon. Both Jenrya and Shuichon had activated Draw Fields as well. None of them were making any moves to intervene, and all were merely gazing on. They seemed to be awaiting what would happen next as much as IceDevimon. 

"Now, Renamon!" Ruki exclaimed, and like a fireball Renamon shot across the ground. The ice melted beneath her as she ran, but IceDevimon merely grinned. 

"Now, at long last," the devil said, leaping back and spreading his arms outward, "lets see what you're made of!" 

Renamon's blue eyes widened as large spikes of ice suddenly burst out of the ground right before her. Instinctively, the fox flipped back a short distance and landed, arms crossed. "Ruki," the flaming fox spoke calmly, "this Digital Field... it is not ordinary." 

Ruki grit her teeth. "IceDevimon's a Field Controller..." 

"Field... Controller?" Takato questioned. 

"In the Digital World, certain digimon are somehow granted a sort of... domain and control over particular areas," Ruki said. "One's never crossed over to the Human World until now..." 

"It certainly explains the severity of this Field," Renamon said, staring at the wall of spikes standing between her and IceDevimon. Just then, Takato spotted another ice spike simply growing out of a tree... and it suddenly shot across the air and towards Renamon. The brown-haired boy nearly screamed to warn her, but wasn't in time... as the flame aura around the fox merely melted the spike as soon as it reached her. Renamon never flinched through the whole thing, merely keeping her eyes on the wall before her. "FOX LEAF ARROWHEAD!" Glowing, leaf-shaped objects appeared before her, and immediately caught fire from her aura as they were sent flying at the wall. The flames around the burning projectiles became larger and more intense as they traveled, until they all collided with the ice spikes and blew them apart. 

As shards of ice tumbled the ground, everyone could see that IceDevimon was no longer there. "Where..." Renamon muttered before her body tensed. 

"ICE SHOWER!" Shards of ice rained from the sky, straight at the burning Child digimon. Renamon didn't even move, and the aura around her flared up even more and stopped any of the shards from even getting close to her. There was a loud cackle, and IceDevimon dropped back down into view. "Two minutes," IceDevimon stated. "I must say, my dear Ruki, that the power you give your digimon is really most impressive..." 

Neither Ruki or Renamon said a word. Now that he was in her sight, Renamon wasted no time, lunging for IceDevimon with such speed that Takato could barely follow her movement. The fox's fist struck out for her foe's head, but IceDevimon was able to dodge in enough time to barely avoid both her and her aura. The punch was soon followed by a kick, and the fallen angel fell back to avoid that blow. Renamon gave a growl that was loud enough for Takato to hear, and then went at the Adult-level digimon with a flurry of punches and kicks. 

Takato stared in amazement at the sheer fact that IceDevimon was somehow able to keep up with the blazing fox's incredible pace. Renamon's blows were now nothing more to the young man's eyes than a blur of flames. Yet the ice demon had yet to be struck, and continued to retain an overly confident and cocky grin. Glancing briefly at Ruki, though, he could see that the confidence in her face had yet to waver. In fact, in the moment he looked at her, she smirked. 

Takato soon saw why, as IceDevimon suddenly screamed. The source of this was easy to determine, as everyone there could clearly see that Renamon had punched IceDevimon square in the chest. The entire stand off seemed to simply freeze for a moment as the two mid-air combatants locked gazes. The seemingly frozen moment of time went quick, though, as IceDevimon let out an incredible howl of pain when the flames of Renamon's aura gushed out from her fist and washed over his body. 

"WISTERIA PUNCH!" Renamon screamed, bringing her other fist around to slam into IceDevimon's head. The white digimon was sent crashing violently into the ground, and despite the contact being broken with Renamon, the flames covering his body persisted. Renamon followed him as he attempted to get up, flipping over in the air before bringing her foot down over his head. 

The impact of the blow sent IceDevimon's face straight into the ground. Renamon flipped back and landed in front of him, her flame aura once again melting the ice around her. IceDevimon lay there before her, fire circling around his body as he gave such a horrifying scream that it made Takato shiver. "It's almost over," Ruki muttered, a slight tone of relief in her voice. 

Suddenly, however, that scream quickly changed into a bitter, forced laugh. "You..." the devil groaned, raising his head up. "You... burned me..." 

Takato's eyes widened as he saw IceDevimon's flame-covered face. Beneath the red hot fires, he could see a bright blue glow coming from his eyes... 

"ZERO FREEZE!" 

Renamon crossed her arms as if to perform Fox Leaf Arrowhead again, but didn't get it off in time. Instead, beams of blue burst forth from IceDevimon's eyes, striking the fox and pushing her back across the ground. Her flame aura was now put on the defensive, reflecting her opponent's beam. The fox digimon was pushed back across the ice, the flames around her melting it as she slid. 

Finally, as if realizing it was doing little to his opponent, IceDevimon cut his attack off and sneered at her. "No more games..." 

IceDevimon raised his arms and just as he did so, showers of ice spikes soared out from all directions. Renamon took a defensive position, allowing her aura to take the blows and destroy the spikes before they touched her. However, they didn't stop. They kept coming, and Renamon wasn't really left in a position where she could actually MOVE. 

To make matters worse, Takato could swear that her aura seemed to be shrinking... 

Takato heard Ruki make a grunt, and looked over to see her swaying in her stance. It almost seemed as if she was having a harder time standing up. Then, suddenly, he saw a look of surprise cross her face. It seemed like some sort of realization, and as he looked back outside the Draw Field at Renamon, he realized the same thing. 

IceDevimon was trying to wear down Renamon's Flame Aura. 

Finally, Takato picked himself up and got to his feet, looking back at his fellow Tamers, their digimon, and his own partner. He knew that they had to do SOMETHING to help... but what could they possibly do? 

Just as those thoughts crossed his mind, Jenrya had an expression that told Takato he was thinking the same. Unlike Takato, however, the other boy was quick to take action. "Terriermon, Impmon!" he exclaimed. "Shoot your flame attacks!" 

Impmon blinked, and then stared up at Jenrya. "Hey, who do you think you ar-" Impmon stopped abruptly as he saw Jenrya's glare, and then chuckled nervously. "R-right." He looked ahead to see Terriermon rushing away from Jenrya's Draw Field and towards Ruki's. Thus, with a defeated expression, he followed. 

"BLAZING FIRE!" 

"SUMMON... FLAME!" 

The twin fireballs scorched across the frozen air, slamming through several of the ice spikes headed for Renamon. The fireballs continued on and towards IceDevimon. Seeing this, the fallen angel gave a small, confident smile and waved one of his large, clawed hands.

In that instant, the falling snow around them became a sudden, literal blizzard. The fireballs were quickly destroyed by the snow, and any real visibility was pretty much reduced to zero within seconds. All Takato could see then was Ruki, and that was only because they were both within her Draw Field. That, and the faint red glow of Renamon's aura in the snow... 

That too, however, soon vanished. As soon as it vanished, however, Takato heard Ruki scream. He snapped around in her direction to find the young woman clutching her arm, which now had a large red patch of her blood coming through her jacket. Blood was dripping down her hand, as well... and that look on her face... Before he could even have any sort of reaction, she fell to her knees, and the Draw Field shattered. 

Takato was immediately blinded by the onslaught of snow. He attempted several times to call out her name, only to either be muffled by the sound of the winds, or just simply get a mouthful of the cold, frozen precipitation. All he could do was stumble about, blind and helpless, unable to even find the person who was only two feet away from him several seconds ago. "RUK-URK!" 

His cry was suddenly cut off as he tripped over something. Or, to be more exact, someONE, as whatever he hit gave a distinctive and familiar exclamation. In fact, it sounded rather vulgar, so he was fairly sure he had just stumbled over Impmon. He didn't have time to dwell on that, however, as he continued falling, colliding into two more things that made cries as he hit them. He vaguely recognized they were tumbling down a hill before they came to a quick and painful stop. 

On the relatively bright side, anyway, they landed in a thicket of bushes and trees, which gave them some limited shielding from the blizzard. It allowed him to SEE who he had just ran into, anyway. 

"Um, Takato-san..." Takato glanced down to see Shuichon beneath him, blushing. "Could you please get off of me...?" 

Seeing the... compromising way he was sitting atop the younger girl, Takato's face immediately went red and he scrambled away as fast as possible. "S-sorry!" he barely squeaked out. 

Shuichon just sighed as Impmon roughly shoved Lopmon off of his head. "What just happened...?" 

Impmon jerked his thumb in the direction of his Tamer. "You think HE'S going to know?" 

Shuichon frowned at him. "You don't have to be mean. Whenever IceDevimon did... whatever it is he did, my Draw Field busted." She sighed again and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not very good at making them..." 

Impmon grinned. "Hey, it's more than he can do!" 

A second later, Takato's fist was planted atop Impmon's skull. 

Shuichon hugged her knees and gave Takato a worried expression. "What happened to Ruki-san?" 

Takato's mind immediately raced back to what he had seen. Blood running down Ruki's arm. That expression on her face, which was a mixture of pain, surprise, and something that _almost_ looked like fear... "Ruki is..." Takato paused, looking at the expression on Shuichon's face. Seeing that, he forced a smile. "I'm sure she's fine. We just kind of lost each other... I bet Jen's fine too. They're both more experienced than us..." 

"What's bad, however," Lopmon said, "is that with the blizzard the way it is, we can't really hope to even try and move out in it. That's just basically begging IceDevimon to kill us..." 

Of course, at the same time, Takato knew that just staying in one spot could make them easier to find... but in the end, there wasn't much else they COULD do...

* * *

Jenrya was trying his best to just stay in ONE place. He knew if he tried to move in this kind of weather, he would easily get lost. At least he had SOME idea of where he was if he just stayed still. Not that he could accomplish much without even being able to SEE, but he needed a few moments to gather his thoughts... 

Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called out. "TERRIERMON! SHUICHON! LOP-!" 

He was quickly cut off as he heard a cry out in the blizzard. "BLAZING FIRE!" and following that was a small green glow further up. 

"Keep it up!" he yelled out in his partner's direction, and Terriermon did just that. Following the green glow, Jenrya quickly found Terriermon, and scooped the small digimon up into his arms. He could faintly see a tree right next to them, so he pressed himself against it and moved around it until they at least had a LITTLE bit of cover. 

"This is just NUTS!" Terriermon exclaimed. 

Jenrya frowned and nodded. "Tell me about it..." 

"How can we even find anyone in this stuff?" 

Jenrya leaned his head back against the tree and thought. That was certainly a good question. No one else had answered his calls... and searching for them in this would just be insane. It wasn't that he wasn't worried. He _was_. The thought of his little sister trapped out in this worried him sick. But he couldn't really _do_ anything about it. 

"I don't think we do..." Jenrya muttered. "Not unless you can sense any of the other digimon in this stuff." Terriermon just shook his head. "I didn't think so." Jenrya reached into his pocket and drew out his D-Ark. "What we _can_ do, however, is trace where IceDevimon's Realization Point was, where his powers will be at their strongest. If he's stopped Renamon, that's where he's most likely to be." 

Terriermon gulped. "But if he's stopped Renamon, then..." 

"Stop it," Jenrya said sternly. "I'm not going to think about that right now, and you shouldn't either. We just... can't. Understand?" 

"Right," Terriermon sighed, and then crossed his little arms. "So, we jump right out of the frying pan and into the..." He paused. "Heh. Not a very good comparison here, is it?" 

Jenrya chose not to reply and began marching onward, his only guide being whatever direction his D-Ark decided to point him in. "Lets just hope that everyone else is safe. That, and pray we stand a snowball's chance in..." Jenrya trailed off as Terriermon began to snicker, and then groaned. "Not a word, Terriermon. Not a word."

* * *

Ruki awoke. She was cold. Her vision was blurry. He right arm throbbed with pain. She had no _idea_ where the hell she was. 

As her vision began to clear slightly, she could see that she was in a small, dark chamber made completely out of ice. Obviously, she could figure out who the decorator was pretty easily. Renamon was nowhere to be seen, but Ruki knew that her partner lived, because _she_ still lived. 

That was all she really knew, however, as her mind felt very... clouded. She couldn't explain why, but she had a very difficult time thinking. She could barely even remember the battle they were just in... Most disturbing of all, however, was the fact that her body wouldn't move, no matter how much she tried to command it to do so. 

"Ah, my dear Ruki..." 

That chilling, familiar voice. IceDevimon. He was behind her. She could feel him looking down at her, staring at her prone form... and suddenly, she felt her body rise. Nothing was touching her, but she felt as if she was standing up by force all the same. Her body then trembled as one of his long, lanky arms reached around her waist and pulled her against his body. 

"Wh- what... do you... want...?" she spoke the words slowly, feeling unable to speak more than a few words at a time. It was almost as if he vocal cords themselves had been frozen. 

Ruki could almost _feel_ him smirk as he reached towards her face with his other clawed hand. "You," he said simply, caressing her cheek with one of his long fingers in a manner that was disturbingly gentle for a creature like him. "That much should be obvious." 

Ruki attempted speaking again, but found herself to be completely lacking the ability then. 

"I know who you are, Ruki," he said, cupping the side of her face, and turning her head so that she had no choice but to look at _his_ face. "I know _what_ you are. What you have done. Everything. You have changed much since you first became a Tamer." His face seemed to get even closer to hers, to the point where she could feel his ice cold breath on her face. "Too much. Your heart has become too soft. Your mind, weak. All for giving into foolish concepts which you believe are for your betterment. What you were when you first came to the Digital World... _that_ is the true Ruki. The _real_ you. You know it. You know that Ruki still lies within you..." 

"I," Ruki began slowly, surprised at her ability to speak again, "don't understand..." 

Ruki shivered as his grip on her waist seemed to tighten. "You and I are very much the same, Ruki," he said. "You have merely been led astray... I will return the true Ruki to the surface, for _that_ Ruki will be my Tamer." 

"My partner..." she muttered, "Renamon... she's..." 

"Indeed, she is. There lies your problem... you trust in someone who is weak. And you DO trust in her completely, I know." 

"I do... I wouldn't... betray her..." 

"Can you say the same for her, though?" IceDevimon questioned. "Can you honestly tell me that you know everything that lies within her heart? Everything that she wishes for? _Everything_ that she desires?" 

"She wouldn't-" 

"Come now, Ruki," he cut her off. "You should know yourself better than I... have you ever said that before?" 

Those words struck her hard, as she suddenly somehow knew _exactly_ what he meant. _Who_ he meant. The young woman's eyes merely widened, her mouth hanging open as she tried to respond but couldn't find the words. Grinning, he pulled her face even closer to his and pressed his lips against her's. Her immediate reaction to this was to scream, but she couldn't. As the taste of his mouth filled hers, she immediately started to feel sick inside. There was something so indescribably horrible about the sensation of his lips that she couldn't even hope to describe it. Yet, there was nothing she could do against a digimon of his level, and he held the kiss for several moments. 

Finally, he released her, and set her back down on the floor. He looked down at her and smiled. "You _will_ see it my way, Ruki... and your true self will find its way back out..." 

With that, the fallen angel vanished from her sight. All Ruki was then left with was her clouded thoughts, and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach...

* * *

"Y-y'know," Impmon stammered, looking at the other three he was with, all of which huddled up and shaking from the cold. "If w-we don't do somethin', I think we're all gonna freeze before anyone has to worry about killin' us themselves!" 

Shuichon gave a small sort of nod to the comment, and Takato groaned. "What can we do, though? If we went anywhere, we'd just wind up stumbling around blindly..." 

Lopmon nodded, but he and Impmon both suddenly then froze up. Shuichon blinked. "Guys?" 

"DOWN!" both digimon cried, tackling their Tamers to the ground. Just as they did so, several rocks went flying through the air at a high velocity, crashing right through the trees that surrounded them. As everyone sat up, thanks to the cover of the remaining bushes and trees in the area, they could make out several Icemon approaching them. 

Growling, Impmon went to his feet. "Oh, this is BULL! NIGHT OF FIRE!" he lobbed the weak flame attack through the air, but it quickly fizzled out in the snow. "...shit." 

The Icemon launched another barrage of rocks at everyone, and they scattered. Shuichon, however, didn't move fast enough, and one rock grazed her shoulder. Though it barely clipped her, it was enough to send her crashing into the ground. Lopmon, likewise, winced and grabbed his own shoulder. 

"Shuichon-chan!" Takato exclaimed, stopping and dropping down next to her. "Are you okay?" 

"KID! Behind you!" Impmon suddenly shouted. 

Takato looked up just in time to see a large, hairy digimon that he recognized as a Mojyamon looming over him. He didn't have enough time, though, to get himself and Shuichon out of danger as the beast raised up a giant spike of ice, preparing to send it down through the young man. 

Just as it was about to strike, however... a large beam of black light washed over the Mojyamon's body, obliterating it from existence. Everyone froze. Including the Icemon. All eyes turned in the direction of the beam, and emerging from the falling snow, Takato could make out something that was startlingly familiar... The blonde, blue-eyed girl from the previous night, wearing a long, black coat. More surprising was that standing beside her was a very large, black, dog digimon. Fumbling for his D-Ark, Takato raised it up and activated the analyzer. "Dobermon?" he said aloud to himself, staring down at the statistics that came up. 

The blonde girl and dog both calmly walked towards the Tamers. The Icemon were still in shock... but that didn't last too long, as they all glared at Dobermon and looked ready to strike. The blonde girl gave them a brief glance, and then looked back to the Tamers. Or to be more specific, Takato. She merely gave a small motion in the direction of the Icemon, and Dobermon snarled as he eyed them. 

"SCHWARZ STRAHL!" 

Another beam of black light burst from his mouth, engulfing the Icemon and destroying every single one of them instantly. 

Gulping, Takato helped Shuichon to her feet, allowing the younger girl to put an arm around his neck to support her. "You're that girl... how... why..." 

"Matsuda Takato," the blonde girl said calmly, "you were careless." 

That was... true. Blunt though it may have been. "You're a Tamer..." he muttered. 

"Jen-niichan and Ruki-san never said anything about anyone else," Shuichon said. 

Not even bothering to look at Shuichon, and seeming to pretty much ignore the younger Tamer, the blonde girl continued looking at Takato. "I am what I am. I am merely here to do what I must. What I must do at this moment in time is to make certain a life as precious as yours isn't tossed away so recklessly." 

Takato blinked and blushed. "A life as... what?" 

The blonde girl continued. "You are going to try and find your friends, are you not? And I would be correct in assuming there's nothing I can do to stop that, right?" 

"Of course!" Shuichon exclaimed. "I'm not going to let my brother and our friends fight that guy alone!" 

"Besides which," Impmon said, "Renamon probably got her ass kicked, and I'm _sure_ as hell not gonna rely on that little pipsqueak Terriermon to save our asses!" 

"Impmon!" Takato exclaimed, looking down at his digimon to glare at him, only to find Lopmon doing the same. 

"Very well," the blonde girl stated, and then turned to walk away, Dobermon trailing behind her. "Follow me. I will at least make certain you reach your destination safely." 

The entire group just stared at her, and Takato looked around at everyone. "Got any better ideas?" Impmon questioned, and the rest shook their heads. Having no other choice, they thus moved to follow her.

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

Well, that took awhile. I could go off into some grand tale of WHY it took awhile... but I doubt anyone wants to listen to that. It did, but the next chapter won't. Believe me. Or don't. Whichever. :p  
The Psi Card system will be elaborated on more & more as the series progresses, but hopefully I've explained it and the Draw Fields well enough for here.  
Anyway, no need for a long author's note here. :p

* * *

_"Against the odds, they stand there before their enemy. Never stopping. Never backing down. They fight for the sake of their friends. Their family. Their world. Their strength, everything they have, stands against him..."  
**Next: Realization 06- "Red Ice"**_


	7. Realization 06: Red Ice

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei. Original characters and concepts are mine. Beyond that, this is purely meant for fun, and no harm is intended.  
**Edits, 7/24/05:** Psi Card names adjusted a tad to reflect changes later on.

* * *

White, white, as far as the eye could see. Of course, as far as the eye could see for Jenrya and Terriermon was only a few feet.

The blue-haired Tamer marched nearly blind through the thick snow, Terriermon tucked under one arm as he followed the direction his D-Ark pointed in. The stinging feeling of the whipping winds and snow on his face had all but vanished, but that was only because his face was pretty numb at this point. Without being able to see very far ahead, he was having to be very careful not to trip and bust his ass. An admirable feat which he was having much difficulty in accomplishing.

As Jenrya walked, the Tamer and his digimon remained in relative silence. The fates of their friends, his sister in particular, was heavy on his mind. He couldn't go a second without thinking about them. The fact still remained, however, that they needed to do this. They needed to find and stop IceDevimon. If they didn't, none of this would end.

Blinking his grey eyes, Jenrya looked around as the snow appeared to let up. Behind them, however, it was clear the snow was coming down just as hard as before. Ahead, however, he could see the outline of what seemed to be a tunnel. As they got closer, it was clear that the tunnel was incased in ice.

"Oh yeah," Terriermon muttered, "this isn't foreboding at all..."

Frowning, Jenrya continued on. He couldn't really tell at this point whether or not the tunnel had been there before, but that didn't matter. They were nearing IceDevimon's Realization Point. They couldn't stop. Not now.

Naturally, as soon as they entered, they found that the floor of the tunnel was extremely icy. Jenrya slid a bit, but was able to keep upright and continue walking. Of course, without the snow, his vision was _now_ obscured by the growing darkness as they continued further inside...

That feeling of blindness, however, was soon put to a rest as the ice suddenly released a soft, blue glow that lit up the entire cavern. As soon as he was able to see and take in his surroundings, however, Jenrya came to a sudden stop.

Lining the walls, the ceiling, and the floor were digimon. Many digimon, all frozen in ice. Each and every one of them had a distinct look of terror on their faces, as if they were frozen moments before they were about to die.

Looking behind himself quickly, Jenrya found that the entrance to the tunnel was now a solid, thick sheet of ice. Gritting his teeth, the blue-haired Tamer looked ahead against. "_Why_ am I not surprised?"

"Jen!" Terriermon suddenly exclaimed, pointing off to the side of the chamber. "Look!"

Jenrya's eyes followed the direction Terriermon pointed, and found Renamon, in a very similar position to the frozen digimon that surrounded them. Indeed, most of her body was completely trapped in ice. The only exception for her was the fact that her head and hands were still left unfrozen. Though she was obviously out like a light, she was still alive. If _she_ was alive, that meant Ruki was too.

Still, that moment of happiness was fleeting. Partly for just how flat-out _disturbing_ this place was. More, though, for the fact that a certain voice soon echoed around the chamber.

"You could have made it easy on yourself..."

IceDevimon. No mistake about it. His deep voice reverberated off the tunnel's frozen walls, yet he seemed to be nowhere in sight.

"Where are you?" Jenrya suddenly snapped. "Where's Ruki?"

IceDevimon's voice merely scoffed. "That's none of your business."

"The hell it's not!" Terriermon shot back.

"You could have just left well enough alone," IceDevimon's voice stated. "Left us alone. You may have been spared..."

Jenrya growled. What did this freak _want_ with Ruki? What the hell had he been doing to her up until this point, for that matter? With his partner already struggling to break free, Jenrya released Terriermon. The little digimon hit the ice and slid a bit, but came to a stop, ready to attack when the need arose. As Jenrya gripped his D-Ark, he knew that need wasn't far off. "You bastard," the young man spoke aloud. "Show yourself!"

Surprisingly, IceDevimon complied. A whirlwind of ice and snow suddenly appeared before them, and as it vanished, IceDevimon stood in its place. "Really, now," the fallen angel said, crossing his long arms. "If a Legendary Tamer, one of the Digital World's supposed 'saviors,' could not beat me, what makes you think that _you_ can?"

"What anyone else has done doesn't matter," Jenrya said, eyes narrowing. "All that matters is what is going to happen _here!_ DRAW FIELD!" The young man thrust a hand out, prompting the energy shield to sprout up around him. In the palm of that same hand, a small, glowing ball of energy then appeared. "Now Terriermon!" He brought the energy to his D-Ark and slammed it into the device. "PSI-LINK! EVOLUTION!"

Light erupted from both his D-Ark and his digimon at the same time. IceDevimon merely stood there, unfazed, as Terriermon was engulfed in a cocoon of energy as his form began to change...

"Terriermon, EVOLVE!"

The light around Terriermon seemed to explode, and in his place was a large, humanoid, dog-like digimon. He wore a pair of jeans, and instead of hands, he had a gatling gun at the end of each arm.

"GALGOMON!"

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 06- "Red Ice"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Takato was beginning to hate the cold. _Really_ hate it. It was bad enough they were stuck in this blizzard, and that they were hunting down some deranged digimon that was controlling it. The snow was falling so heavily that actually _moving_ in it was becoming very, very difficult. He had long since lost the ability to see his legs in the snow on the ground, and the ability to feel them was quickly fading. On the bright side, at least, Shuichon was walking under her own power again. He would be moving even _slower_ then if it wasn't for that.

As Lopmon rode on his Tamer's shoulders, and Impmon walked along with his body half submerged in the white stuff, Takato glanced up ahead at who they were following. That blonde girl and the Dobermon...

_"I know many things about you, Matsuda Takato. About everything that is happening…"_

Those were words she had spoken to him that night, when he had first seen her. She obviously wasn't with Hypnos, so how could she really know anything about him? He had never seen her before in his life. Then there was that bit about "everything that was happening." _He_ couldn't even say he knew what the hell was going on half the time anymore. If she knew these things...

_"Everything is starting to come to the point where it will begin… you must understand that and be prepared."_

Be prepared for _what_? Trying to make sense out of what she had said then was giving him a headache. Though she wasn't with Hypnos, she was still obviously a Tamer... right? So why was she keeping all of this secrecy about her?

_"What I must do at this moment in time is assure that a life as precious as yours is not sacrificed so pointlessly."_

Remembering those more recent words from her caused him to blush slightly again. Shaking his head vigorously, he continued to stare at the girl and Dobermon from behind. He _really_ hoped they actually knew where they were going...

"Say, ...uh," he paused, blinking to himself as he realized he had no idea what to call her. "What's your name, anyway?"

The blonde girl gave no sign of acknowledging his question for a moment, but then stopped. Dobermon did the same. She continued to stare ahead for several more seconds before turning her head back to look at them. Or at Takato, anyway. "Alice. I suppose that will do."

"You suppose?" Shuichon asked in-between her teeth chattering.

Alice only turned her head back forward and began walking again. Shuichon stared at her, and then promptly stuck out her tongue.

"Geez," Impmon muttered as a bit of distance was put between them as Alice and Dobermon walked. "Guess she's in the right climate..."

Takato just frowned. "You guys are mean..."

Shuichon blinked in surprise and looked at the older boy. "But... it's _true_."

"We-" Takato began, but quickly found himself cut off.

"If all of your are finished talking about me behind my back," Alice said. They all looked ahead to see she had stopped again, but still had her back turned to them. "We should continue."

Takato, Impmon, and Shuichon stood frozen (in more ways than one), just staring at her. "She _heard_ me?" Shuichon squeaked out.

Sighing, Lopmon bowed his head. "I think we should remain quiet and just follow her."

The other three could do little more than nod in agreement.

* * *

Ruki sat in the dark chamber. Alone. Cold. Unable to move. Something that wasn't from lack of trying. She just couldn't bring herself to do it, somehow. Her mind... that clouded feeling was still there. Trying to string many coherent thoughts together was a difficult task, much less the ability to control her body.

Her arm still hurt. A lot. Maybe even more than before. Her eyes could still move, anyway, so she glanced down at her arm. In the dim light (where could that be coming from, anyway?), she could see the dried blood on her hand. She could recall, at least, that was a sign she had been careless. That Renamon had been hurt...

If nothing else, though, she could remember what IceDevimon had told her... not to mention, the sickening feeling of his mouth against hers.

_"There lies your problem... you trust in someone who is weak. And you DO trust in her completely, I know." _

"I do... I wouldn't... betray her..." 

"Can you say the same for her, though? Can you honestly tell me that you know everything that lies within her heart? Everything that she wishes for? _Everything_ that she desires?"

Ruki would have shook her head if she could. She couldn't think like that... she knew, even in her foggy state of mind, that Renamon was the one living being she trusted more than anything...

Right?

If she didn't trust Renamon... Renamon couldn't trust her...

_Renamon needs me,_ Ruki thought, _just as I need her. She's my friend... she's the only one I _can_ trust..._ Her limited train of thought stopped briefly. _But if she didn't need me... If she was given another, better opportunity..._

Ruki stopped, and mentally scolded herself. Whatever IceDevimon had done must be getting to her, somehow. That had to be it...

"Trust," she murmured out loud to herself, "isn't something that easy to gain..."

_"If you don't actually TRUST anybody, you're not going to get very far in this world..."_

Those words. They came from deep in the back of her mind. A memory, punching rather violently and vividly through whatever had been done to her head. Just those words, the memory of _that_ voice... Her face contorted in anger, her hands involuntarily clenched into fists...

_"Whether you like it or not, we're in this together..."_

More words spilled out from her memory, each thought further increasing her anger. Without even thinking about it, she found herself rising up under her own free will.

_"Prepare yourself, Ruki... I told you that you can trust me... This is the only way..."_

Ruki stood, weakly, holding her injured arm. As her vision began to clear, she could make out a small passageway up ahead. Leaning up against the wall to support her body, she started to make her way towards it.

_ "I am only serving justice, Ruki. HIS justice is the only way..."_

A small growl escaped her mouth as she recalled one of the last things that voice had said to her. That in mind, she started to move a bit steadier. A bit quicker.

Trust was, indeed, a very difficult thing to gain and keep. It could easily be false. It could easily be used as a doorway to something more sinister. Yet, Ruki couldn't just let IceDevimon do that. She couldn't let him take something as valuable as the trust she had in Renamon...

* * *

"Evolution," IceDevimon spoke, his red eyes narrowing as he stared at Galgomon and Jenrya. "Such a glorious power. One _wasted_ on you two."

"You can make this easy, you know," Jenrya stated. "One more chance. Release our friends."

IceDevimon scoffed. "Now, why would I want to make it easy for you?"

Jenrya was now grinding his teeth together. He didn't want to have to bring it to this. Now, however, there was little choice. They couldn't turn back now. "We gave you a chance... GALGOMON!"

The Adult-level digimon nodded, leveling one gun-hand at IceDevimon.

"Hmph!" IceDevimon uncrossed his arms, baring his claws. "You think you can match me in my own Field?"

As the fallen angel dashed towards his opponents, Jenrya sighed to himself. "This is your choice, not ours..."

"GATLING ARM!" Galgomon's gatling gun-arm spun, spewing forth many bullets in rapid succession. IceDevimon came to a sudden halt and threw up his arms. As he did so, a barrier of ice sprouted out of the ground in front of him, taking the impact of the bullets. As soon as Galgomon's initial barrage ended, IceDevimon crashed through the now-weakened barrier and lunged straight for the other digimon.

"FROST CLAW!"

IceDevimon flew towards Galgomon, and just as he was about to reach him, Jenrya took a step to the side within his Draw Field, with Galgomon moving in perfect synch outside it. IceDevimon's claw missed Galgomon by mere inches, and before he even had the chance to be surprised, Jenrya kicked up with his left leg. Galgomon did the same, _his_ leg slamming right into IceDevimon's gut. Given the force of the blow and the fallen angel's momentum, IceDevimon doubled over in pain. Quickly following that, Jenrya and Galgomon both sent their fists flying down, Galgomon's gun-hand slamming against the back of IceDevimon's head. The force of this was so much that he was flipped over onto his back. Not missing a beat, Jenrya and Galgomon both spun around and dropped down... with Galgomon's elbow slamming into IceDevimon's chest with a sickening crack.

IceDevimon lay there for a moment, his eyes wide... before he let loose a howl of pain. Grabbing Galgomon's arm, he flung his enemy away from him with a tremendous force. Galgomon slammed into the ice and slid along it for a moment, causing Jenrya to wince as he felt his digimon partner's pain. Now kneeling on the ground, as he was starting to get up, it wasn't enough to knock Jenrya back down. It certainly still hurt like hell, though.

IceDevimon rose slowly, standing right next to Jenrya's Draw Field. The Adult-level digimon was clutching his chest, and each breath he took seemed pained. IceDevimon looked straight into Jenrya's eyes, a look of surprise and anger evident even through the digimon's mask. The fact that this creature was so close to him sent chills up Jenrya's spine, despite the fact that the digimon couldn't touch him.

Galgomon was getting back onto his feet, and it wouldn't be long until IceDevimon went on the offensive again. _This is strange,_ Jenrya thought. _He isn't using his Field Control like he did against Ruki and Renamon. If this had been back then, he would have stayed back, thrown up pillars of ice for defense, and used ranged attacks. Attacking so directly seems sloppy considering how he was before..._

IceDevimon, his breathing still causing an obvious amount of pain, turned around to look at Galgomon. _Our synching caught him by surprise,_ Jenrya continued in his mind, _ but that won't work a second time. However, looking at him, I think we have one distinct advantage now..._

Jenrya shot a look to his partner. "Galgomon! His ribs are broken!"

"Gotcha!" Galgomon said, nodding and taking aim once more. "GATLING ARM!"

Snarling, IceDevimon tossed up his free hand, another wall of ice appearing to protect him. However, this time Galgomon didn't stop in his assault. He kept on firing, and the wall was barely able to keep regenerating fast enough to keep IceDevimon from being pumped full of lead.

"Now's our chance," Jenrya said quietly to himself, holding out a free hand. As he did so, there was a small glow and a gray Psi Card appeared in it. "Attribute Card!" Jenrya cried, running it along the side of his D-Ark. "PSI CARD SLASH! Speed Booster!"

In the blink of an eye, Galgomon vanished from sight. Then, before his last round of bullets even reached the ice wall protecting the fallen angel, Galgomon appeared _behind_ it... and right in front of IceDevimon. Grinning, with his gatling gun still rotating rapidly, he sent an uppercut straight towards his enemy's chest.

"DUM DUM UPPER!"

The results of Galgomon's metallic fist crashing into IceDevimon's chest was, actually, rather sickening. The sound of bones being snapped and just plain crushed was rather... distinct. Given IceDevimon's already obvious injuries, Jenrya knew the sense of pain had to be mind numbing. The force of the impact was enough to send their opponent straight up into the air, and Galgomon wasted no time in taking aim again.

"GATLING ARM!"

Obviously not out of it far enough to not try and defend himself, IceDevimon flung his hands out, and several ice spikes shot off from the walls. They streaked out in front of him to try and block Galgomon's bullets... but this time, it wasn't enough. IceDevimon's timing was off. Most of the spikes flew by either too late or too soon. Many of the rest were just shattered by Galgomon's ammunition. Though all of this was enough to prevent the _full_ impact of Galgomon's attack striking him... it didn't prevent several rounds from striking the demonic digimon directly.

Blood splattered on his pure, white suit, while small bits of data fragments leaked out from the wounds. Yet, he did not scream. The look of complete and utter shock was so frozen on his face, Jenrya didn't think what just happened had fully registered in IceDevimon's brain.

IceDevimon just fell to the ground, slamming hard into the floor. It was then, landing on his right leg, which had taken the worst damage from the last attack, that he screamed. There was something about the cry, the way IceDevimon howled, that just made Jenrya shiver a bit. It was as if that voice was from hell itself... and at this point, that wouldn't be too surprising.

Galgomon once more aimed his guns in IceDevimon's direction. Noticing this, the virus digimon looked straight at Galgomon, his eyes glowing blue. "ZERO FREEZE!" As twin beams of energy burst forth from IceDevimon's eyes, Galgomon just simply disappeared from sight again.

_I don't understand this,_ Jenrya thought. _It's too easy. Why-_ Jenrya's thought process stopped suddenly as it hit him. He glanced around the chamber, and saw Galgomon appear behind IceDevimon. The dog-man slammed a metallic fist into IceDevimon's face without warning, and the impact sent the fallen angel sliding across the icy chamber's floor.

_That's it!_ the blue-haired Tamer realized. _He's a Field Controller, like Ruki said, but every power has its limits. He can only control so much, and in keeping us trapped here, with the blizzard outside... He's exhausted himself. If he lets up the blizzard, then Shuichon and the others could find us! So if we're going to beat him, now's our chance. While he's keeping everyone away from here, and not capable of using his full power..._

As IceDevimon finally slid to a stop, Galgomon fired off several bursts from his guns. Instead of trying to erect some sort of barrier or do anything to deflect the attack, this time IceDevimon tried to move... but he didn't move fast enough. His left arm was caught in Galgomon's line of fire, and with that many rounds striking him so rapidly...

Well, it was no real surprise to Jenrya or Galgomon when the arm was literally blown _off._

As the severed limb fell to the ground, exploding into fragments of red data, IceDevimon tossed back his head and cried out at the top of his lungs. Blood and data poured out of what was left of his arm, and he clutched the stump with his remaining hand. Of course, this did very little to stop the blood flow, so it wasn't long until most of his remaining arm and good portions of the rest of his suit were painted red.

The chill that Jenrya had gotten from IceDevimon screaming before was now just multiplied that much more. To bring this much pain to a living creature was _not_ something Jenrya liked. At all. But there was no choice in this matter. It was the only way to end this... Even if, as IceDevimon's screaming faded, and he sat there on the ground, hunched over and bleeding, defenseless, he looked so completely pitiful...

Actually, the sudden stop to his screaming seemed slightly... odd. Very odd, in fact. IceDevimon looked over at the Tamer and his digimon, an unreadable expression on his face. An expression which quickly changed into a devious smirk. Following that, he laughed.

Jenrya quickly raised an eyebrow, and shot a look over to Galgomon, who merely shrugged. "Jen," the digimon said, "I'm starting to think he's a few cubes short of an ice tray..."

"Heh, you two..." IceDevimon said, slowing and weakly getting back to his feet. Even as he stood, it looked like his injured leg could give out at any moment. "That was... unexpected." He continued to smile and released his bloody stump of an arm. "It was a good try, at least. I'll give you _that_ much..."

"Galgomon," Jenrya said, keeping his voice calm and steady. "Finish it."

Any humor in IceDevimon's face vanished. "Not so fast."

All of a sudden, both Jenrya and Galgomon's eyes widened. Jenrya felt a sudden, sharp pain in his leg. The _following_ pain was so overwhelming that he collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg and screaming. As he found his leg bleeding, he forced himself to look out and around to find Galgomon. A spike of ice had shot out from the ground beneath the digimon... and directly through his leg. Galgomon seemed to be trying to hold himself together, not cry out... but the look of pain on his face was crystal clear.

IceDevimon simply turned away from them, no hint of joy or triumph. No emotion at all. He merely stared at several of the frozen digimon that lined the chamber, and in an instant, a number of them exploded into data. IceDevimon loaded each and every bit of data that came to him, and as he did so, the two saw a new arm form where the old one had been. The bullet wounds vanished, and all things considered, in the back of his mind beyond his pain, Jenrya figured that those broken ribs were a thing of the past too.

Jenrya was now trying to hold himself back. He couldn't let IceDevimon see him whimpering in pain. The fact he had never felt any pain like this in his _life_ didn't matter. He couldn't let himself show weakness in front of something like this. Looking over at his partner, he knew Galgomon was trying to do the same.

"As I said," IceDevimon spoke while flexing his new hand, his back still turned to them, "that power is wasted on the both of you. You are merely fools if you think you are up to _their_ level. Nothing like the Legendary Tamers. Nothing like my Ruki..."

Before he could go on, an explosion caught everyone's attention. The combatants looked and found a hole in the ice wall that had trapped Jenrya and Terriermon there. Standing there were the other Tamers, Takato and Shuichon, their digimon... and another girl. Another digimon. A big, black dog. Jenrya couldn't say he recognized either of them, but right then, that wasn't really an issue.

Almost instantly, a horrified look crossed Shuichon's face. "NIICHAN!" she cried, and started to run towards her brother. Takato quickly grabbed her arm, causing the girl to slip on the ice. She would have fell had he not caught her, though he barely stayed upright himself.

"Takato!" Jenrya called to the other young man. "Get out of here! Just get Shuichon out of here!"

Confused expressions crossed Takato, Impmon, and Lopmon's faces.

"You don't understand!" Jenrya exclaimed. "IceDevimon, he-!"

"Too late," IceDevimon said with an eerie calmness. He held out a hand and closed it into a fist, causing the ice wall to start mending itself. Outside, Jenrya could hear the blizzard quickly dying down...

_DAMMIT!_ came Jenrya's immediate next thought. _With all of us in here, he's going to channel all of his powers at us at once!_

"All of you had the chance to turn away," IceDevimon said, turning back to face Jenrya and Galgomon.

Galgomon just growled, and fired off a single shot into the spike that had been sent through his leg. It shattered, and he looked as if her was about to fall over, but stayed upright as best he could. "You..." he said, and Galgomon's valiant attempt to just stand was send pains straight through Jenrya's leg as well. "You're talking like you've already beaten us!"

IceDevimon calmly began walking towards them. "Haven't I?"

"Bastard," Jenrya grunted, rising to his feet, just barely. He clutched the bloody spot on his leg, and could really barely stand the feeling flowing through his body from that spot. His eyes were tearing up, and his vision was blurry... But he couldn't back down. Not now. "Not a chance. Not with my friends..."

Takato and Impmon were still new at this. Takato didn't even know how to use his Psi Cards or Draw Field, much less how to evolve his partner...

"Not with my sister..."

He couldn't let Shuichon face this monster. She wasn't ready for it. He didn't even like the fact that she ever had to be forced into any situation like this. Much less _this_ one...

"Not with all of them here..."

He didn't even know anything about this new, blonde girl or her partner...

"I can't afford to back down if you're going to bring harm to _any_ of them!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Takato had released Shuichon, and the girl had sunk to the ground, tears flowing from her eyes. "Jen-niichan..."

"GALGOMON!" Jenrya shouted, holding out his free hand and forming two Psi Cards between his fingers. "Metal Fusion Level-One! Attack Booster! DOUBLE COMBO!" The two cards fused into one, and he brought them to his D-Ark. "PSI CARD SLASH! _MAXIMUM ARTILLERY!_"

Galgomon's gun-hands glowed brightly and changed. They grew larger, equipped with several types of smaller gatling guns and rocket launchers. Galgomon took aim for IceDevimon, barely able to stand with the increased weight on his arms.

"No matter what," Jenrya said.

"You're goin' down!" Galgomon finished.

"MAXIMUM BURST!" As the cry came from both Tamer and digimon, Galgomon let loose with every weapon he had available to him. IceDevimon's eyes actually widened, and a new barrier of ice formed around his entire body. As the barrage started to slam into the barrier, tossing chunks of ice in all directions, Galgomon didn't let up for an instant. Still, the force of tossing that much firepower out was hard on Galgomon's leg, not to mention Jenrya's.

_I can't fall, no matter how much it hurts,_ Jenrya told himself. _If I can't hold up, Galgomon won't be able to either... We HAVE to beat this guy, now, before he has the chance to really attack us with his full power..._

Despite all of that pain, Galgomon continued on. The sound of the explosions and gunfire drowned out anything else that could have possibly been heard, and it all seemed to go on forever, until finally... Galgomon ran out of ammo. As soon as this occurred, and Galgomon's hands changed back to normal, both Tamer and digimon collapsed to their knees.

"W-we..." Jenrya stammered, staring out at the chamber. So much ice had been smashed and tossed up in that barrage that it almost looked as if it was snowing within the frozen chamber. "Did... we..."

Jenrya strained his eyes, attempting to see past the smoke ahead of them. To see whether or not they had succeeded. To see-

"FROST CLAW!"

A white blur dashed out of the smoke, so fast that Jenrya barely caught it. It was IceDevimon, lunging straight for Galgomon. Jenrya's partner moved just enough to avoid a fatal wound. But he didn't move enough, as IceDevimon slashed his shoulder.

Blood and data flew. As did Galgomon. Straight into a wall. He didn't even scream, as the impact had been enough to instantly knock him out. He fell back to the ground, glowing and shrinking back down to Terriermon, while Jenrya... The pain had shot from his leg to his shoulder, then to his back and head... then his whole body... He found himself going limp, falling over. The Draw Field surrounding him shattered, and his entire world felt as if it was going away...

He heard cries for his name. From Shuichon. Takato. Lopmon. Cries of Summon Flame, Blazing Ice, and Schwarz Strahl. He vaguely saw that black dog digimon ramming himself into IceDevimon, and then... he saw his sister's face before everything went black.

* * *

Ruki walked, slowly, through a narrow, frozen hallway. She still needed to hold herself up against the wall a bit, but she could steadily feel her strength coming back. Of course, the more and more she thought about things... she was just plain kicking herself in her mind.

_To let IceDevimon do this to me,_ she thought. _I've been sloppy. Stupid. I was too cocky. Too confident that, no matter what, I could beat him. I underestimated him._ She clenched a fist. _Not this time. Not now._

However, just as she thought that, she found herself running into a wall of solid ice. She couldn't go any further, and going back only led to the small chamber she had started in. Without Renamon, however, she didn't have the power to just break through this. As it stood, she was stuck.

Sighing, she pressed her forehead against the wall. "Renamon," she spoke softly. "Tell me where you are. Please, just tell me where..."

As she closed her eyes, she concentrated. She needed to see further. To see where her partner was...

Then, she saw... something. Power. The power of her fellow Tamers and their digimon. They were very distinct. She could see them like... colors, almost. The purple of Takato and Impmon, Shuichon and Lopmon's pink. Renamon's blue... she was cold... so very cold...

There was also something else out there. Something completely foreign, and yet having some odd sense of familiarity. There were two of them. That color was dark, like a shadow. Black. Most definitely black.

Then there was IceDevimon, who they were fighting. Then...

Ruki's violet eyes snapped open, and she stared blankly at the wall. "Jenrya... Terriermon..."

She had felt them, but...

She growled, and her fingernails raked down the ice. "The two of them, they..." she muttered, and then gave a small yell of frustration and punched the wall. "IceDevimon! You're unforgivable... and so am I. It's my fault this happened. All of this is my fault..." She stepped back, pulling out her D-Ark. "I'll show you what I can do, IceDevimon. I'll show you _exactly_ what I'm capable of..."

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Y'know, I can remember some arguments a couple years back about whether or not Digimon had blood. Though, obviously, it just depended on the animator. BlackWarGreymon and Mihiramon bled fountains worth, yet you don't see a drop when Beelzebumon plows his claw through Leomon. Or MegaloGrowmon's head. So I'm going with... they bleed here. And I'm not doing it merely for gratuitous violence. If you have somebody that's literally trying to rip you apart or you're firing gatling guns at someone... the stuff's gonna fly a bit. So... yeah.  
And, yeah, the final special attack Galgomon used was of my own creation, by way of the Psi Cards. You'll likely see more of things like that later. As for why I felt the need to change how Evolution is activated, that'll be a matter addressed later on. :P

* * *

_"For everything he may know about her, there are many more things he doesn't even realize. The source of her strength, everything she's seen... Even that shadow in her heart... All are far beyond his comprehension..."  
**Next: Realization 07- "Dark Flame"**_


	8. Realization 07: Purple Flame

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Edits, 7/24/05:** Some Psi Card names have been adjusted a tad to reflect some changes later on.

* * *

It had been that time, against that force, where she had last used that power...

Deep within the depths of the Digital World, that is where she had been. _Where_ that was, precisely, even to this day Ruki couldn't say. All she knew, both then and in the present, was that there was fire all around. Beyond that, only darkness. What came before that, and much of what happened afterwards, was a blur...

Ruki was, at that time, knelt on the ground. She was sweating. Exhausted. Beside her was Renamon. She was all that was left...

"You," a voice boomed. Something about the voice was... painful. It was, for all intents and purposes, normal, and yet... there was something about it that just made her hurt inside. "You are not who should stand before me now. Where... _Where is he?_"

Ruki gave a half-hearted smirk, staring down at her hands. "Dead."

The entire ground shook, and Ruki knew that this... thing now stood before them. She knew this, but she would have been lying if she had said she could _see_ him in the conventional sense. Half the functions of her body seemed completely shot, and all she could make out with her eyes was something very... bright. The glow of those fires...

She could sense him, though. She could see his power. She could _feel_ that darkness, somehow... Horribly frightening, and yet somehow it was there like some sort of lingering invitation.

"Impossible!" the voice of that dark power boomed. "That is not possible, or else I..."

Ruki grabbed something on her waist. Small, metal... her D-Ark. She raised it, and felt Renamon's hand rest reassuringly on her shoulder.

"I'm done," Ruki murmured. She could feel a power coming from the D-Ark... "I'm tired." A power very much like the one this beast contained... " I want it to end. Matrix..." The power suddenly surged forth, washing over both Tamer and partner, "EVOLUTION!"

That, of course, was then. Not now.

Not here.

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 07- "Purple Flame"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

"SUMMON!" A burning hole erupted in the icy floor before Impmon's feet, and a fireball erupted from it. A mischievous grin crossed the green-eyed demon's face as IceDevimon dodged a physical blow from Dobermon. "FLAME!"

Despite the fact his back was turned to Impmon, IceDevimon stepped to the side, missing the attack entirely. As Impmon cursed, Dobermon spun around, a dangerous look in his eyes. "SCHWARZ STRAHL!"

With one swift, sudden flap of his wings, IceDevimon took to the air. A gust of freezing went was left beneath him, and the black beam firing from Dobermon's maw instead streaked into a nearby wall. The impact sent a shudder through the entire cavern, and too many missed strikes like that could have easily brought the place down on everyone's heads. Despite this, IceDevimon's fairly subdued expression was at the same time amused. He had the advantage. The Tamers knew it. More importantly, _he_ knew it. He was complete and total master of this domain, despite being an alien in the Human World.

Takato watched the battle, helpless to really _do_ much, as he stood by Shuichon. The younger Tamer was kneeling next to her brother, tears still coming down her cheeks. _Somehow_ (and Takato couldn't really fathom _just_ how), Jenrya's bleeding had stopped. He was breathing, as well... though his breaths didn't seem as strong as they could be... Something about seeing her big brother hurt like this seemed to make something snap in Shuichon, and there was little Takato could do to snap her out of it.

He watched as Lopmon narrowly avoided a Frost Claw attack, and noticed that Shuichon didn't even seem to realize how close her digimon had come to that. She really _was_ out of it, which only left himself, and...

He glanced over to Alice, who stood silent and stoic. She hadn't spoken since the battle began, and had made no moves to further their fight against IceDevimon. She obviously knew more about all of this than he did, or that's what it _seemed_ like anyway. Yet she was doing nothing, from what he could see. The calmness she exuded was nothing short of disturbing when faced with this sort of situation. Ruki, too, had been calm in battle... but not like this. Alice's expression was completely unreadable. Try as he might, Takato couldn't even _hope_ to wonder what was going on in that mind of hers.

Just then, Takato felt his body tense up. An intense pain formed in his stomach, and he looked, seeing IceDevimon's fist plowing straight into Impmon. The force was hard enough that it shot Impmon clear across the cavern. The little demon landed hard on his back, crying out as he struck the ground. Thus, before he had gotten past the shock of what he felt in his gut, Takato felt a sharp pain shoot through his back. Screaming, Takato fell to his knees and bent over clutching his stomach. He wasn't really sure how to comprehend the pain in both areas of his body. He just knew that it hurt. _A lot._ So much that he could barely even pay attention to what was going on around them.

Someone else then screamed. Shuichon. Takato looked, blinking away tears that had been welling up in his eyes, and saw Shuichon sprawled out on the ground. She held her head, groaning. Further away, Lopmon lay before IceDevimon's feet. The fallen angel was back on the ground, and now the only one not out of it was Dobermon

Taking the chance, Dobermon leapt straight at IceDevimon. This direct attack was swiftly thwarted, as IceDevimon sent a solid punch into the side of Dobermon's head the second he was within range. The force knocked Dobermon away, hitting the floor with enough force that he _definitely_ wasn't going to hop right back up.

His own pain dying down a bit, Takato glanced over to Alice again. To his surprise, she was still standing, showing no real outward pain. That _should_ have hurt her, if she was a Tamer...

And if not that, what _was_ she?

Takato didn't have much time to ponder these questions, unfortunately. IceDevimon had turned his attentions away from the digimon. He was now staring at the humans, and soon started to stride towards them. "I wonder," he said, out loud but almost as if he were talking to himself, "does a human's body break like a digimon's?"

Takato gulped, staring wide-eyed as IceDevimon approached him. He pressed a hand against the D-Ark in his pocket, thinking frantically of what on Earth he could possibly do. He didn't know how to use Psi Cards. He didn't know how to erect a Draw Field. He was nothing short of a fish in a barrel, and IceDevimon was the shotgun.

Lopmon and Dobermon were both still out of it, and though Impmon was struggling to get up, he too was also down. Weakly, Shuichon was pushing herself up to her knees, and as she looked up, she froze.

"Shuichon-chan," Takato managed to blurt out. "You've got to do something... anything..."

Shuichon just continued to stare. Her hands were shaking. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. She seemed so frightened as IceDevimon got closer to them that she just couldn't do _anything._ Then there was IceDevimon, and... well, the expression on his face told Takato that he greatly enjoyed their fear.

That was it. There was nothing else that Takato could do. Couldn't run. Floor was too slick, and there was nowhere to run _to._ With everything that was happening, Takato's thoughts were only filled with one thing: He was going to die.

"IceDevimon," Alice's voice cut across the chamber, matching the calmness of her expression. Blinking, IceDevimon stopped and looked over at her wordlessly. She held nothing in her hands. No D-Ark. No Psi Cards. All she was doing was looking straight at him. "Do you wish to see hell?"

A smirk sprouted on IceDevimon's face. It struck Takato as if he didn't _mean_ to, it just happened. "You wish to take me there, child?"

"No," Alice said, pointing behind IceDevimon. "But he does."

IceDevimon spun around, and once more, Dobermon stood. The dog digimon was still some distance from IceDevimon, but Takato knew his attack could clear said distance rather fast. IceDevimon just stood, only for a moment, and then spoke. "This beast... its..." He jerked his head back in Alice's direction. "That something like this would be standing before me... heh. I didn't notice before. The lapdog of a power that doesn't even matter anymore. What does that make _you_, then?"

Alice just continued to stare, her expression unwavering, and she reached in her pocket. From it, she retrieved a D-Ark, colored black and silver. "Death Tamer," she stated. "That is what you can know me as."

Takato blinked, suddenly confused again. _Death Tamer...?_

IceDevimon looked back to Dobermon. "I see... well, this makes it no different than before."

Dobermon's body tensed. He didn't seem prepared to repeat the same mistake he had made last time. It was as if he was bracing himself. IceDevimon, on the other hand, held out his right claw, which was still stained red. He looked prepared to strike, but it seemed both were waiting for the other to make the next move...

Yet, that move never came. Instead, the silence was shattered by the sound of something... cracking. Everyone stayed still for a second before IceDevimon whipped around in the direction of where Renamon was almost totally trapped in ice. There was a rather significant crack in the ice surrounding the fox. Then, suddenly, a brief, powerful flame erupted off her body, blowing away her confinement. Renamon's eyes snapped open, and though she too seemed surprised, she jumped away from the shattered ice and gracefully landed on her feet.

Without even a word to her fellow digimon or the Tamers, Renamon then quickly turned around. The fox crossed her arms, and eyed one of the walls. "FOX LEAF ARROWHEAD!" The attack soared out, glowing leaves digging into the wall before each one of them exploded. Ice went flying again, and as it came raining down, emerging from that newly formed hole in the wall was Ruki. In her hand was a red Psi Card, but it quickly blinked out of sight.

Takato's first thought, beyond being glad she was alive, was that Ruki looked tired. As she slowly walked out of the hole, over to her partner, he couldn't help but think she looked like she hadn't had a night's rest in weeks. Yet it had only been a couple hours, at the most, since he had last seen her. She held her line of sight to the ground, not looking up to face any of her comrades.

"R-Ruki-san..." Shuichon stammered.

"_My_ Ruki," IceDevimon said, the initial shock of Renamon being freed apparently leaving him. "That you overcame your situation so quickly... You will, indeed, make a most _excellent_ Tamer."

_Excellent Tamer?_ Takato thought. _Okay. Confusion time again._

Ruki took a glance over at Takato and the others. Upon seeing Jenrya and Terriermon's states, that tired look on her face was joined by a look of great anger. It showed particularly in her eyes, and something about that look... Something about it almost scared Takato.

"This," she said, barely loud enough to be heard by those present. "All of this. Its my fault..."

"How right you are," IceDevimon said, now seeming to ignore the rather pissed off dog digimon standing in front of him. "If you had chosen to join me, none of this-"

"It's my fault," Ruki cut in, "for not killing you the very _second_ I laid eyes on you. You are nothing more than a vile, disgusting piece of trash that has no right existing. All you deserve is death." She held out her D-Ark as her voice grew stronger with each word. "You tried to make me betray my trust of Renamon. You hurt my comrades. _You_ did these things, but they are my responsibility too. For all of that, I can't ever forgive you." Her D-Ark started to take on a glow... "I'll destroy you. Wipe your life out of existence. I'll obliterate you, body and soul!"

That glow suddenly burst into a shining light... one of dark purple. "PSI-LINK!" A blue ball of energy formed in her free hand, and she swung it into her D-Ark. "EVOLUTION!"

Renamon's eyes suddenly widened, and she turned to look at Ruki. But before any words could leave her mouth, her body was engulfed in that purple light, and she began to change. "Renamon, EVOLVE!" Renamon's body morphed into a larger, four-legged fox. Her shifted from yellow to purple, and she sprouted nine tails. The end of each tail, and each of her paws, was ablaze with flames. And more than anything, what drew attention was the feral, wild look in her eyes... "YOUKOMON!"

* * *

Megumi sighed blissfully as she wrapped her hands around the foam cup and held it up to her face. Coffee. Wonderful, hot, caffeine-filled _coffee._ "Warmth..." She murmured. No one was going to turn the heat up, obviously, so she had been forced to take matters into her own hands.

Then, the alarms went off. Again.

Megumi jumped, and her cup flew from her grasp, landing elsewhere on the floor. "Oh, _dammit!_" she cried, mourning the loss of her only substantial heat source as it flowed out along the floor. She was really having bad luck with stuff like that, lately.

Sighing, she turned to look at her console, since she was the only one there at that moment. Reika had wandered off, as Yamaki needed her help with something. What, she couldn't imagine, but at this point she didn't see what the point was. Any pre-Realization defenses they could act on couldn't possibly be used at this point. The battle was already going on, and all they could do was monitor it.

Actually, the fact the battle was taking so long, and that the Digital Field was still in full effect was making everyone in Hypnos just a slight bit on edge...

Once she bothered to actually look over the new readings they were getting, however, Megumi's eyes widened. "Oh.. oh my."

"Megumi!" she heard Reika's shout come from behind. "What's..." The other woman trailed off as she too saw the readings. "That's Renamon. But, something about it... I've never seen anything like that."

"What's going on in here?" That was Yamaki, and Megumi just held her head.

"I- I don't know," Megumi said. "It seems like Renamon evolved, but the readings are just... I can't even make it out. That is _definitely_ not Kyuubimon..." She turned around, looking at her superior. Despite his glasses and the dim lighting, there almost seemed to be something of a worried expression on Yamaki's face. "What should we do?"

Yamaki just shook his head. "Unfortunately, at this point in the game, there's nothing you can do..."

_Click._

Megumi twitched at the sound, but nodded and turned back to her console. She didn't say anything, and just stared at the readings that were coming in. The Digital Field had actually been interfering with the basic readings on all of the Tamers, so they hadn't been able to track any of them for awhile. This, on the other hand, was just unreal...

She just hoped that all of them were alright...

* * *

IceDevimon stared at Youkomon, an obvious mixture of awe, shock, and fear all mixed in his expression. The other Tamers and digimon, too, looked upon the purple fox in a similar manner. Ruki truly couldn't care what anyone thought of this creature at that moment, as a purple aura began to come up around _her_ as well. There was only one thing she cared about right then...

"Youkomon," Ruki commanded. "Kill him."

Youkomon only snarled, and then went dashing towards the white devil. Dobermon leapt away from IceDevimon, obviously having no desire of being in Youkomon's path. The ground literally exploded behind her from where she stood, and each inch of ice she came in contact with instantly melted. IceDevimon stumbled back, starting to dodge... but Youkomon was much too fast. She tackled him, her mere touch burning him, and after he struggled for a moment, she wound up on his back. Without a second of hesitation, Youkomon bared her fangs and chomped down into IceDevimon's shoulder. The claws of one burning paw dug down into his arm, while another jabbed into his back. Blood and data flowed from his wounds, and all IceDevimon could do was lie there and scream while Youkomon literally tried to rip him apart.

"RUKI!" Takato shouted, and despite screaming as loudly as he did, Ruki just barely noticed it.

The young woman merely looked over at them with a blank look. "Leave."

"But-!" Takato began, stopping as she gave him an angry glare.

"LEAVE!" she exclaimed, and her voice alone seemed to shake the entire chamber.

Takato stared... but only for a moment. He and Shuichon both picked Jenrya up as best they could, while Impmon put Terriermon on his back. Dobermon wasted no time in blowing a new hole in the wall so they could escape, and as everyone made their way through the exit, Takato glanced briefly back at the whole confrontation, sighed, and then continued out.

The attention Ruki paid to all of them was minimal. All she wanted to see now was what Youkomon was doing to IceDevimon. Gnawing on his shoulder, roughly pulling on it to try and just tear his entire arm from his body. A smirk uncontrollably crossed her face. "That's it, Youkomon. Tear him apart..."

IceDevimon gave one more, horrible scream and Youkomon was suddenly knocked away from him by freezing winds. The viral fox flipped around, landing on her feet. She growled and looked ready to pounce again any moment, but seemed to be waiting for the right chance.

"Ruki..." IceDevimon breathed, rising to his feet and turning to face the Tamer. "This is what I meant. This is you. The true Ruki..."

"I know you can feel it," Ruki muttered. "Youkomon's power. Do you honestly think that you can match it? You can never make me yours... you're far too weak."

IceDevimon sneered, spreading his arms wide. Or as wide as possible, given that he could barely move one arm from Youkomon's assault. "That's where you're wrong... I will have you, Ruki. One way or another..." The entire chamber began to shake violently. "EVEN IF IT'S YOUR FROZEN CORPSE!"

All around them, every single frozen digimon that lined the walls blew apart into data. Every single fraction of that data was loaded by the fallen angel, and then everything started to... move. All of the ice surrounding them- on the walls, the floor, and the ceiling -began to move as if it were a living thing, building up behind IceDevimon. Then, it engulfed the demonic digimon and began to change, twisting around and forming into a large cyclone of ice and snow that was becoming larger and larger by the second. The winds it generated were harsh, and stung as they washed over Ruki's exposed skin. The frozen twister shot up as high as it could go, and then fell straight down; right towards Ruki and Youkomon.

Her purple eyes just narrowed. "Fool."

"EVIL FLAME DRAGON!"

Youkomon leapt into the air, spinning around and transforming into a dragon of flames. The flames were wild, shooting off in all directions and destroying whatever they touched. The dragon slammed straight into the frozen twister, the impact of which sending out a shockwave. That shockwave made the entire world around them tremble, and the ceiling began to crack, shatter... and just plain cave in around them.

The twister and dragon both pushed back and forth against one another, neither being able to fully overcome the other. This, despite the fact that the Evil Flame Dragon should have had the overwhelming elemental advantage.

A large slab of concrete landed near Ruki, but she couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to it. Nor did she care about the burning heat or intense cold around her that kept alternating back and forth. With a flick of the wrist, a black Psi Card appeared in her free hand, and she brought it along the side of her D-Ark. "Psi Card Slash! DARKNESS FUSION LEVEL-TWO!"

The Evil Flame Dragon became completely black as the card activated. The flames went completely insane, streaming out almost everywhere, and obliterating much of the tunnel they were in. The dragon had no difficulties, then, plowing straight through IceDevimon's cyclone...

Ruki vaguely thought she heard IceDevimon crying out her name, but she couldn't hear much. The sound of all the rubble collapsing was far too overwhelming. Yet, Ruki stood her ground, even as the ceiling continued to fall...

* * *

Outside the tunnel, the sky was as clear as it could possibly be. Not a single cloud littered it, and the sun shone brightly down upon the city of Tokyo. With snow covering every square inch of the ground, it was actually a rather beautiful sight.

As Takato and Shuichon moved Jenrya outside, both as carefully and as quick as they possibly could, the young man kept looking back. The sounds of the battle could easily be heard from far outside, and those sounds were rather disturbing. Takato could swear it seemed like the tunnel was collapsing in on itself from all the way back in there...

As soon as they were completely out, however, Alice stopped in her tracks, prompting everyone else to do the same. "Get down."

Takato blinked hard. "Why-"

Alice spun around, displaying the most emotion Takato had seen out of her yet. "NOW!"

Everyone complied, dropping straight to the ground. Just as they did so, a wave of black fire suddenly erupted from the tunnel, tossing rubble all over the place. Much of it halfway across the park.

Takato groaned as he sat up, coughing out a great deal of snow from his mouth. "What the hell was _that?_" Impmon snapped, sitting straight up.

Takato rubbed his head. Everyone there seemed to be fine, even if Terriermon and Jenrya laid on the ground, still completely out of it. Dobermon had covered Alice with his body to protect her, while Impmon, Lopmon, and Shuichon were no worse off than before. That just left...

Takato's eyes widened, staring back down into the now-blackened tunnel. "Ruki! She-" Before three words could even exit his mouth, there was a brief flash before them, and Renamon popped out of thin air holding Ruki in her arms. Takato stared, mouth hanging open, and did the only thing he could think of to do. He waved. "Uh. Hi there."

Ruki... there was something about her that now looked weakened. But, at the same time, she looked... relaxed. And her eyes... Back when Youkomon had appeared, Ruki's eyes had changed. They had looked hollow, devoid of life. Almost... possessed. Yet now, they were back to normal. The look that had put fear into him was gone.

As Renamon released the girl, Ruki took a quick look around at everybody. Her gaze stopped on both Jenrya and Terriermon, then she nodded, and promptly dropped onto her butt. She groaned, rubbing her head, and then blinked as everyone stared at her. "...what?"

"What was that back in there?" Shuichon asked. "It looked like Kyuubimon, but..."

"It was..." Ruki trailed off, pausing and bowing her head. "It destroyed him. That's what matters."

"I... see," she mumbled, and then shifted her eyes to her brother. "Is he going to be okay?"

Renamon crossed her arms and nodded. "So long as both of them are still breathing, they should be fine. You Tamers are quite far from ordinary humans."

Takato found that last sentence flying over his head, but he was starting to get used to that by this point.

Ruki sighed and reached in her pocket, pulling out a cell phone. She then stopped, glancing back and forth. "Wait! Where did that girl with the black dog go?" The tone of Ruki's voice was urgent, and indeed, as he looked around, he couldn't see Alice or Dobermon anywhere. "Who were they?" Ruki asked, her tone rather demanding.

Takato just scratched the back of his head. "We don't really know. She saved us, though. We never would have made it there without her..."

Ruki gave a sigh as she dialed a number and put it up to her ear. "Wonderful." The phone rang, and someone on the other end answered. "Yes sir, this is Makino. We're finished here..."

* * *

"Gihehehehe..."

"May I ask what is so funny? It's still really cold out here, you know. I don't have fur like you do."

"Well, it was easy, was it not? We found them, did we not? He'll be pleased! Very, very pleased!"

A smirk. "Indeed. But, still, there's something that remains..."

"Oh, yes, yes. Gihehe! That one will be most fun!"

Eyes shifted down to a device, held in one hand. A D-Ark, deep red with some black. "Most definitely. I think I know the perfect, day, too. So many minds. So much pain. So many _wonderful_ candidates..."

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** A shorter chapter than usual, but I needed it to be like this in order to end this little storyline and set up the next one. :)  
Also, for right now, I've decided to drop the current rating down to PG-13. It probably WILL get bumped up again later, but for right now, what happened to IceDevimon in the last chapter wasn't any worse than what you see in any given episode of Inuyasha. Any language hasn't had anything I haven't heard in a PG-13 movie. So, for now, until I get to a point where it's needed... I'm changing the rating. If anyone disagrees with that, feel free to speak. :P

* * *

_"Dreams will come and pass, and often we don't even remember what they were. It's the nightmares that we remember and can never forget..."  
**Next: Realization 08- "Nightmare Field"**_


	9. Realization 08: Nightmare Field

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei. Original characters and concepts are mine. This is all just written for fun, so no harm is meant. :P

* * *

Lee Jenrya sat up in his hospital bed rubbing his shoulder. An instant reminder of something that was still very fresh in his memory... That was where IceDevimon had slashed Galgomon. Where Jenrya had felt his own flesh open up. The pain now, however, was almost nonexistent. There was only a slight, dull ache as he pressed his hand against the wound. Or, what used to be a wound, anyway. 

He still felt really groggy. He had been awake for a couple of hours, at least, but his body still seemed so tired. After everything he had just been put through, he was surprised that he could even find the strength to open his eyes.

"I see you're awake."

Jenrya's body stiffened, surprised to hear anyone talking to him. Taking a quick look to the door, Ruki was leaning against its frame. With her jacket off, he could see her right arm had bandages wrapped around it. Given how his own injuries felt, however, he figured that was more of a formality than anything else.

She was alive. They had won. Jenrya already had been told this, but actually _seeing_ her cemented that fact in his mind. The fact that horrible battle was over and done with...

Ruki's expression was difficult to read. Something about it, and her body movement as she walked into the room, was odd. She seemed much more tense than usual, and there was just something that he couldn't quite grasp. Something that he couldn't quite comprehend about her look that just plain bothered him.

She just continued to look at him, and folded her arms over her chest. "Your sister's watching over your partner. It took quite a bit of doing to pry her away from here when you were still out cold."

Jenrya stared back, trying to understand what was getting to him. He then forced a smile upon his face and nodded slightly. "That's good... thanks, Ruki."

"Yamaki told me that you'll be out of here tonight. Your father's making the arrangements."

Jenrya gave a nod, running a hand through the back of his hair. "Yeah. Can't really let my mother worry..."

"Or know at all."

Ruki's last comment made Jenrya flinch a bit. A look in her eyes told him that she noticed this, and he bowed his head a tad. "After everything that happened, I'm surprised that I can still walk, or that I'm even awake."

"We _are_ different," Ruki said. "No ordinary person could have taken those blows the way you did." She paused briefly. "That was pretty reckless, though."

Jenrya tilted his head back up, and this time gave a genuine smile. "As if what you did in that first fight wasn't?"

Ruki blinked hard, seemingly surprised by the retort, and then spun around. "Whatever. Seeya."

"Hold on a second!" Jenrya blurted out as she began to walk out. He then quickly dropped the volume of his voice when she stopped. "Takato came by earlier... he told me about Youkomon."

He didn't think she could have looked more tense than she did before. He was wrong. Her entire body seemed to just lock up at the mention of that digimon's name. He was starting to understand what it was that was bothering him about her...

"What was it?" Jenrya asked, his voice calm and even.

"That was..." Ruki began, stopping almost as soon as she started. He could see her hands starting to ball up before she released a deep breath, her shoulders slumping a bit. "It was what was necessary. That's it."

Not uttering another word, Ruki left the room, her pace quickened just enough to be noticeable. Sighing, Jenrya leaned back in his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

There was _definitely_ something wrong there... The question, really was figuring out just what it was...

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 08- "Nightmare Field"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

With the skies clear and the sun shining down upon West Shinjuku, the ice and snow that had suddenly blanketed the city in an instant wasn't due to stick around for long. Already, as the sun rose once more, it was all melting away, and the odds much being left over by the end of the day were slim. 

At the very least, it made everything _look_ sort of nice. Rather peaceful, actually. At that point, Takato needed as much peace as he could get while he walked to school.

He hoped that he would have the chance for a little bit of peace and quiet, at least. That was apparently the largest Digital Field that had ever crossed over... With IceDevimon defeated, the Field too was destroyed. Any of those other digimon that had crossed over with him had apparently all targeted them... thus, all of those were destroyed and gone.

Jenrya and Terriermon were alright. Ruki and Renamon were alive. Everything should have been fine. Just fine.

_Yeah, it'd all be just great,_ Takato thought, _if I didn't have to come here..._

The brown-haired Tamer gave a defeated sigh as he stepped into the school yard. The bell had yet to ring, so students were still milling about. He wanted to get there as close to the school day's start as possible... Just go straight to class. Things would be so much easier then...

"Psst! Hey!"

Takato stopped and looked around. He didn't see anyone that could have called out to him. If anything, people were avoiding the act of looking at him.

"Over here!"

Then he noticed it. There was a tree over to the side, surrounded by bushes. A head popped out quickly from behind the tree, and Takato instant recognized the green haired young man as Kitagawa Kenta, a student from his class. Scratching his head, Takato wandered over to the tree. "Kenta, what're you-"

Kenta grabbed Takato's arm and pulled him behind the tree before crouching down. "Shh!" Kenta held up a finger. "I don't want anyone to see me talking to you."

Takato blinked. That was certainly a lovely sentiment. "Gee, uh... thanks a lot."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Kenta said, adjusting his glasses. "It's just, my reputation's bad enough without everything that's been going on with you lately..."

"Hey, I didn't do anything to Katoki!"

"Yeah, I know. Well, aside from that lucky hit after school before he got roasted... I mean, I know you couldn't do anything to him like that. It just wouldn't make any sense. You got beat up often enough by him that-"

Takato held up his hands. "Okay. Okay. I get it. What do you want?"

The other young man sighed. "Sorry. Word has it that the Kobayashi brothers are looking for both you and Lee Jenrya."

The Tamer just... stared at Kenta for a long moment. The other boy seemed perplexed by this reaction, and then his eyes just widened as Takato gave an uncontrollable snicker. Though it wasn't a pleasant memory for him, the image of Jenrya easily disposing of Norio and Yasuo in that alleyway popped right back up in his mind. "I don't think they want to find him again... and he's not going to be here today, anyway."

"You know Lee?" Kenta asked, his expression genuinely confused.

Takato paused, realizing the fact that he may have interacted with many other people in the school would seem odd. "Uh, yeah..."

"Well, anyway," Kenta continued, "maybe you should just skip school today. I think they're about ready to _really_ blow their tops. With Norio in our class..."

"I can't do that," Takato said, frowning. "Plus, he's not going to try anything in the classroom. Especially when Asanuma-sensei's there..."

"What about lunch? Or when you go home? What abou-"

"Heey! TAKATO!"

A hand slapped against the brown-haired boy's back, making him jump straight up. A shout escaped his mouth, and a mixture of fear and surprise rushed through his being. Then, he saw the grinning face of a young man with spiky brown hair.

"Hirokazu!" Takato leapt back on instinct, his back pressing up against the tree. His eyes immediately darted around, expecting Yasuo or Norio to be nearby. They weren't, but a distinct look of nervousness washed over Kenta's face as well.

"Oh, hey, look at the time!" Kenta suddenly proclaimed, looking at his wrist, which lacked a watch. Still, using only this paper-thin excuse, he scampered off out of the bushes and towards the school building.

Hirokazu cocked his head to one side, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Who was that?"

"He's in our _class_," Takato said quickly, and then paused and shook his head. "Wait, what do you want?"

"Heh, well, yeah. About that," Hirokazu said. He scratched the side of his head somewhat nervously. "Listen, man. I've been thinking lately, ever since that thing with Katoki the other day-"

Takato could have sworn he just did this. "I didn't!"

"Yeah," Hirokazu cut him off, still smiling. "I know you'd never have the guts to do something like that!"

Takato just... blinked. It was as if Hirokazu and Kenta shared a brain and didn't even know it.

"So, like I was saying," Hirokazu continued, his face shifting into a more serious expression. Something which, in the back of Takato's mind, was slightly odd for Hirokazu. It should have been, anyway. "I know that lately, I've... well. I've kinda been an ass, hanging around with those guys... It's just-"

Out of the corner of his eye, Takato suddenly caught a flicker of something. Something _purple._ Purple and small. Which would thus mean...

Takato's eyes widened, and without thinking he dashed around the tree. "Hey!" Hirokazu shouted after him. "Where are you going?"

Slowing down briefly, he glanced back at the spiky-haired boy. There was a time when Takato would have never thought about brushing his best friend off so easily. When Hirokazu _was_ his best friend. These days were different. Though, at the same time, there was what Hirokazu was trying to say, and...

Groaning, Takato rubbed the back of his neck. "Later," he said quickly, "I've got to go do something."

Spinning around and not paying Hirokazu anymore attention, Takato went running again in the direction he had seen that thing. Rounding the corner of the school building, he sure enough found what he had thought he would. Leaning up against the wall was Impmon, having just shoved something into his mouth that he was munching on. The urge to yell was something Takato had to hold back for fear of drawing anyone else's attention around the building. "Impmon," Takato hissed, and the little demon jumped a bit.

Impmon blinked his green eyes, and then grinned. "Hey, kid! 'Sup?"

"What are you doing here?" Takato said, smacking the side of his head in frustration. "You're supposed to be staying in my room! Y'know, that whole _hiding_ thing?"

"Y'know how freakin' cramped it gets in there?" Impmon asked. "Plus, I was gettin' really tired of just eating bread..."

Takato's eye twitched, fully understanding that statement meant Impmon had just raided the cafeteria. "N-no one saw you, right?" Takato stammered.

"Of course not!" Impmon said, waving a hand, and then blinking. "Don't think so, anyway..."

"Impmon!" Takato snapped. "Come on, you can't be seen by anyone! Everyone would freak out if that happened, and I have enough trouble here as it is!"

"Yeah, yeah," the digimon said, scratching his chin as if he were in deep thought. "I remembered when you almost got your ass pounded by those two punks... Then, that guy when I first showed up." He then smirked. "But hey, I showed him, didn't I?"

"You _roasted_ him."

"Yeah. So?"

Takato groaned. Why was every conversation with Impmon such a stressful experience? "Everyone here thinks that _I_ did it, even still, since I was the only witness," he muttered, clenching one hand into a fist. "Those that don't think that just think I was too weak... The only one that doesn't is Juri, and she..." He paused, finding himself suddenly blushing. "Well, that doesn't matter either, I guess."

Impmon looked suddenly confused, and then pounded one fist into his other hand's palm. "Hey, I'm just sayin'! If anyone's givin' you trouble, I can-"

"No!" Takato exclaimed, a bit louder than he intended. "No. Impmon, not everything can be solved by hurting people..."

Impmon gave him a crooked grin. "I'll remember that next time we have another wild digimon poppin' up around here."

Takato could only sigh and turned his back to his partner digimon. "Just... Listen to me for once, please. Go home. I don't want any trouble... for either of us."

Not even giving Impmon the chance to respond, Takato walked off. He knew the odds of Impmon _actually_ listening to him were slim, but he hoped he'd at least have the sense to stay out of sight...

* * *

Yamaki sat in his office, his chair turned away from the door so that he could look out the window. It was unusual for him to do this in the daytime, but he had the blinds pulled up, allowing the light to spill unobstructed into the room. Typically, he preferred the dark. His office was usually kept rather dark, as was the main control center of Hypnos. Beyond that, he almost always had a pair of dark red sunglasses sitting on his face. 

For some reason, though, on that day he wanted a little bit of light. If only to remind him that it was still there. After the last Wild One, IceDevimon, he was left wondering how much longer that light would be there...

It was coming. What Ruki had told him was coming, and something with IceDevimon's power crossing over was just the first sign of it. Along with multiple Realizations in the span of a couple days, and that boy...

Yamaki's eyes narrowed at that last thought. Matsuda Takato. His partner, Impmon... There was something very peculiar about the both of them. Yamaki couldn't claim to have some sort of sixth sense like Ruki did, but even _he_ could tell there was something about Takato... Something that he just couldn't put his finger on.

The question, of course, was whether or not that "something" was good or bad.

Yamaki heard a sound behind him - a door opening, and then quickly closing - and he didn't even have to look to know who it was. "You're late."

"I know, and I'm sorry," the voice of who had just entered, an older man, said. "This has just hasn't been the easiest couple of days."

Yamaki nodded. "Yes, I know. Your son..."

"Jenrya's fine."

Yamaki turned slightly to look at the man standing before his desk. "Lee-san," the blonde man said, "have you found anything yet?"

Lee Janyuu sighed deeply, running a hand through his graying hair. "I... well. That's very difficult..."

Yamaki just continued to stare at him silently.

"There's just the fact that the rest of the Wild Bunch doesn't _want_ to be found," Janyuu stated. "Babel and Curly have answered us, but the others..."

"You know how important this is."

"Yes. Of course I do," Janyuu replied. "But... I just can't _find_ Shibumi. He's just been simply _missing_ for so long, I have to wonder if he's even still alive. Daisy, also, I haven't been able to track down at all... Dolphin... I've told you about him."

"That doesn't change the facts, either," Yamaki said. "Especially for him. You've told me that Dolphin and Shibumi, in particular, were two of the most important components of that project. We _need_ them."

"I've told you," Janyuu said. "Dolphin just doesn't want anything to do with these digimon. At all. He had his reasons."

"Reasons that I don't know," Yamaki replied. "I don't know a lot of things about this whole ordeal, since you seem so reluctant to trust me with certain pieces of information."

"I've told you, I have my reasons..."

"You're going to have to learn to trust me," Yamaki said, turning his chair around completely. "Especially with the danger this whole thing is putting your children in."

"I _know_ that!" Janyuu exclaimed, and then paused, seeming to try and calm himself. "Believe me. If any single one of the Wild Bunch doesn't want to be found, they won't be. There's nothing your operatives can do that I can't do better. In something like this, the only one that can find one of us is _one of us._ That's just the way it is."

"And when we get this 'Curly' and 'Babel' in..."

"They'll say the same as me," Janyuu stated. "You can stake your life on that."

Yamaki just stared at the older man, trying to read his face... and finding himself failing to be able to do so. There was something about Janyuu's tone that was far more defiant than usual...

"I'm as tired of this whole thing as you are," Janyuu continued. "Especially after Jenrya was hurt like he was..."

"Alright, fine," Yamaki relented, waving one hand. "You're dismissed. Just remember what all is at stake..."

Janyuu nodded. "It never leaves my mind for a second."

As Janyuu left the room, closing the door behind him, Yamaki turned to look back out his window. This was all becoming very troublesome...

Again, he had to wonder when all of this light could be leaving them...

* * *

As Takato entered his classroom, he tried to shield his eyes from a vast majority of his classmates. He really didn't want to see how a majority of them would be looking at him. Still, this was a pretty futile effort. The results of him walking into the room, for those that actually noticed him, were a mixed bag. There were a couple people that glared at him and a few girls that pointed at him and giggled. Kenta just tried to look busy, while Hirokazu stared out the nearest window. Juri, upon noticing him, smiled brightly and waved. Realizing fully that he was probably grinning quite stupidly, Takato waved back... and didn't watch where he was going. 

He ran right into someone. Someone tall. It was much like running straight into a brick wall. Instantly realizing his misfortune, and the fact that their teacher wasn't yet in the room, Takato gulped.

Norio snarled, grabbing Takato by the collar of his uniform. "Hey there, Matsuda..."

The reaction of the classroom was, once again, mixed. Many of them ignored this, while others stared on. Some with anticipation, others with an bit of fear. Kenta sort of squatted down in his seat with a sort of "thank God it isn't me" look, while Hirokazu tensed and started to rise out of his seat.

"Kobayashi-kun!" Juri exclaimed from across the room. "Stop that!"

Actually, Takato realized, Norio doing this was somewhat odd. Normally, he wasn't one to bug Takato in class. In fact, most of the time he seemed fairly content to leave him alone until Yosuke or Yasuo entered the picture.

Jenrya must have _really_ pissed him off.

Ignoring Juri, Norio grinned and pushed Takato up against the wall. "Heh, your boyfriend ain't here to save you this time."

Takato _also_ realized that he could possibly be in a prime position to knee Norio in the crotch. And after that comment, he was tempted. He really didn't need more unfounded rumors spread about him than were necessary, and given how some of the people in his class spread gossip...

"Dude, just lay _off_!" Both Takato and Norio blinked, looking over the see Hirokazu standing right next to them. He grabbed the arm Norio was holding Takato's jacket by and yanked it away. Norio was too surprised by this action to stop him, but an angry look soon passed over his face.

"Oh, well lookie here," Norio spat. "Shiota just grew him a pair!"

"Coming from a guy who's usually a pussy without his big brother or Katoki to boss him around?" Hirokazu grinned. "That's _real_ good."

The entire class suddenly gasped as Norio took a swing at Hirokazu, which the spiky-haired boy dodged by jumping back quickly. Hirokazu stared blankly for a moment, and then laughed nervously. "Hey, uh... man, you've got a _temper_, don't you?"

Norio cracked his knuckles and began to step towards Hirokazu. "Shiota, you-"

"I trust you three realize it's time for you to take your seats," a female voice said dryly from behind. The three young men froze, and then all quickly scrambled to their desks without even looking at who had spoken to them.

That person was, of course, their teacher, Asanuma Nami. The woman, who had long brown hair, crossed her arms and sighed before walking over to her desk.

Takato couldn't even bring himself to listen to half of what his teacher was talking about for the first several minutes. Instead, he was focused far too heavily in the death glares that Norio was shooting at both him and Hirokazu, and halfway hoping that Impmon _hadn't_ gone home so he'd have some sort of protection when he headed home...

"...and I have a new student to introduce to all of you today," Nami continued speaking, any spark of excitement having obviously left her many years ago. She glanced briefly over to the doorway and nodded. "Come on in."

Takato was very glad he wasn't eating right then. Or else he could have very well choked. Quite simply, this was the last person he expected to see that day.

The 'new student' was a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. In good lighting, it just then struck Takato her skin was rather pale.

"My name is Alice," the girl said, bowing to the class. "Alice McCoy."

* * *

Ruki didn't really have a desire to go anywhere outside of Japan in her life. Much less any countries that were primarily English speaking. So _why_ did she have to take this class? The redhead was only barely paying attention to what her English teacher, an American man, was saying. Yes, there was that whole thing about it being the most prominent language in the world... She just couldn't bring herself to _care._

"Miss Uehara," the teacher said, in English, to a girl with long brown hair done in two pigtails that sat across from Ruki, "would you like to read for us?"

The girl just stared blankly, then realized he was talking to her and shot up from her seat. "Um, yes sir..."

Ruki just sighed, leaning back in her seat. This was going to be a very, very long day... It wasn't only this class, really. She just couldn't bring herself to concentrate on much of anything. Not since that fight with IceDevimon. What she had done in it... The thoughts it had brought back to the surface of her mind... The things she had done just in the past couple years of her life would blow the minds of everyone in this little classroom. It almost sort of made her wonder why she came back there at times. As if her life could ever go back down a normal path...

Ruki's body suddenly tensed as a sharp pain shot through her head. Or, to be more precise, her eyes. The girl's vision became significantly blurred, and she leaned over clutching her head.

"...Miss Makino?" the teacher said, noticing her.

Ruki looked up at the class to see all of them staring at her. Or, at least, she _sort_ of saw them... she could still tell, though. The brown-haired girl, who was closest, took a step towards her. "Ruki-cha-"

_That_ made Ruki bolt up, and she gave the girl a dangerous look. Or she at least gave her one in her general direction. "_Minami..._"

Minami squeaked and jumped back. "S-sorry, I forgot..."

Ruki sighed, lifting herself up and making her way towards the door. She couldn't see _well_ right then, but she could still see well enough not to trip over everything in her path. "I'll be right back, I just... I need to use the restroom," she said quickly to the teacher, and exited the room.

Of course, she didn't get that far. Instead, once she was away from the classroom, she leaned up against the nearest wall and held her head. The feeling that she had... it was familiar. Disturbingly familiar. She hadn't felt like this since that one time...

Ruki blinked, hard, and found her normal vision return to her. Sadly, pain was still present, it just wasn't as great as before. The redhead sighed and rubbed her forehead. That wasn't good, and if it was what she thought it was, then she...

Ruki shook her head. No. She had done what had been necessary.

That's all she ever did...

* * *

Time inched along as class continued for Takato. He found his thoughts being pulled in a hundred different directions with everything that was going on. Alice had been seated next to him, which only managed to frustrate him about this situation even more. There was so much that he wanted to ask her, so much that he _needed_ to about everything that was going on... Yet, in the middle of class, he couldn't do anything like that. She was so close, and yet... 

Just what was she _doing_ there? She just kept cropping up. Right after he had first been inside Hypnos... Saving them from the digimon in IceDevimon's Digital Field... Now, in his school. In his class.

All he knew about her was that she was a Tamer. Her partner was Dobermon. Yet, Shuichon hadn't known anything about her. Ruki didn't seem to know anything, either. She appeared to have no connection to Hypnos... How could she be a Tamer, though, and not have Hypnos know about her? They had certainly sought _him_ out quickly enough.

On the other hand, she had said she knew much about him...

So he continued through the day, mentally beating himself up trying to figure the whole mess out. The thoughts of having to deal with Kobayashi brothers after school had pretty much been pushed to the back of his mind. He had always found some way to cope with them. This, however, was important... even if he didn't know how, exactly.

Finally, the students' lunch break came. Takato breathed a deep sigh of relief, knowing that he could have the opportunity to speak with the girl finally. He just had to figure out how to ask her his questions... Since she was in school, she obviously couldn't just simply slip away like she had the habit of doing...

As Takato retrieved his lunch and turned to Alice's desk, however, he found out just how wrong he really was. Alice was no longer sitting in her seat, though he could see that the door to the classroom had been left open. He stared at the empty seat wide-eyed, and then promptly jumped up from his seat and dashed out of the room, with several classmates staring at him strangely. Particularly Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta.

Looking out into the hallway, in both directions, there was no one. The urge to scream was very, very great, and one he was just about to give in to. _Well, this is just about par for the course on how much my life sucks,_ he thought to himself, pulling at his hair. How did she get away so quickly?

"Hey, Takato?" he heard a voice and felt a hand on his shoulder. Jumping in surprise, Takato twisted around and saw Hirokazu. The other boy held up his hands in defense and blinked. "Err, yeah. So, I was wondering about earlier..."

Takato paid little attention to him, scratching the side of his head as he thought. "Where could she have gone..."

Hirokazu stopped and gave him a confused look. "Who?"

"Alice!" Takato said. "She was just here, but now she's... not. I need to find her and-" He stopped abruptly. Why was he rambling all of this off to Hirokazu?

The spiky-haired young man stared at the Tamer for a long moment, and then smirked. "Hey now, I thought you liked Katou..."

It was then Takato's turn to stare at the other boy. He did so, his mouth hanging open, and he then blushed while shaking his head wildly. "No, no! Not like _that!_"

"Then like how?"

"I just need to _find_ her..."

Hirokazu appeared to think on this, and then laughed. "Huh. Didn't think you were that kind of guy, Takato!"

Takato smacked his forehead in frustration. "...your mind's in the gutter, isn't it?" Hirokazu just nodded mutely. "You know, this is so like you-" Takato stopped again, blinking several times, and then raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second, why are you just talking to me, anyway? ...and you saved my hide from Norio earlier..."

"You just now noticed those things?" Hirokazu asked, looking genuinely confused.

Takato gave a deep sigh and began to walk down the hallway. Hirokazu followed him. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately, okay?"

"So I noticed."

"Then, why is it that you... well, why did you do those things?"

Hirokazu frowned, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "I've just been thinking a lot lately, like I said."

Takato couldn't help but grin. "That's new."

"Funny," Hirokazu shot back, furrowing his brows. "I just... I think I screwed up, man. Hanging around with Katoki and his buddies... Then seeing what they did to you... I don't know. I think I just didn't want to get left behind. Just didn't want to be considered some scrawny, goofy little dork anymore. Even if Katoki was an asshole, he still had this sort of respect among the other students, even if he got it out of fear." He smiled lightly. "Hell, I think Katou's the only one who really stands up to them on a regular basis."

Takato cast his eyes to the ground as they went around a corner. "Those guys still treated me like trash, though. I was your friend, and you still started siding with them..."

"What can I do to show you I'm sorry?" Hirokazu asked, and then pumped a fist into the air. "I know! I'll slug Yasuo in the face and tell him it's for you! Of course, we'll both probably have to run for our lives after that, but it'd be worth it to see him laid out on the ground, wouldn't it?" Though he completely didn't mean to, Takato found himself laughing. Hirokazu stopped, putting his hands around the back of his own head and just smiling.

The Tamer sighed. A part of him wanted to just yell at Hirokazu for being and idiot, for ever being a party to those who gave him so much trouble. Another part, however, just suddenly felt happy to see he hadn't really turned into a complete asshole. Happy to see that, maybe, things hadn't totally changed for the worst out of this whole ordeal...

Then, there was one other part of him. Something in the back of his mind that he could almost... hear. He started to feel a sense of coldness... but it wasn't like what he had felt from IceDevimon. It was different in a manner that he just couldn't put his finger on...

"Takato?"

The brown-haired boy blinked very hard, and his attention snapped back to where he was. Hirokazu was just staring at him oddly, but then gave a laugh, patting Takato on the shoulder. "C'mon, let me help you find your girlfriend, at least."

Takato's expression soured. "She's _not_-" He stopped, slapping himself upside the forehead, all while smiling. "Wait. Forgot who I was talking to. I'm not even going to try."

Obvious that he was happily enjoying Takato's annoyance, Hirokazu grinned from ear to ear and began walking again. "Hey, I'm sure she couldn't have gone far..."

Takato wanted to follow, but he suddenly found himself lacking the ability to do so. That cold feeling washed over him again, much more powerfully than before. Everything around them started to seem increasingly darker by the second. Takato could feel something in the back of his mind, tugging at something in his memories. The Tamer clutched his head while shaking it, straining his concentration to rid him of this feeling, and completely failing in the process.

Hirokazu had once again stopped, and he jumped as the overhead lights suddenly went out. The entire school plunged into a deeper darkness, and Takato found himself dropping to one knee, unable to keep himself upright.

_This is a Digital Field,_ Takato thought, barely able to resist that feeling in his head. He could feel it coming, and he couldn't stop it... _I can tell that, somehow... but this is... Something about this is..._ "ARGH!"

Like a claw scraping across his brain, Takato felt a sharp pain surge through his skull. Then, the world around him just seemed to slip away...

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Another chapter, another storyline begins. I'm glad to finally get back to Takato's supporting cast, and I think I let the IceDevimon battle go on for a little too long, in retrospect.. Oh well. :P From here on, the plot thickens... and I switch the style for my chapter previews, because they were becoming sort of hard to pull of. :p  
An updated set of warnings & junk have been added to the first chapter, as well.

* * *

_"The Digital Field engulfs Takato's school. With Jenrya still recovering and at home, even when alerted to it Ruki still remains halfway across town. As Takato himself succumbs to the power of this Field, the only human left unaffected is confronted with the very real danger this kind of phenomenon presents..."  
**Realization 09- "Friend"**_


	10. Realization 09: Friend

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, and Toei Animation. Original characters are of my creation.

* * *

Something was wrong, somewhere. Ruki could tell. Staring out the window of her school's hallway, she could see the city. What she couldn't see, what she couldn't pinpoint, somehow, was just _what_ was wrong out there. This overall fact was very... troubling. Even more so than the little problem she had experienced earlier...

"Ruki?" Ruki turned, briefly, and found Minami standing behind her. She then turned right back to the window, saying nothing. "Are you alright?" the other girl asked. "You just walked right out once lunch started, and with what happened before..."

"It was a headache," Ruki said. "Nothing else."

"Oh. Well-"

Minami was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of Ruki's cell phone. Ruki quickly retrieved it and answered. "Yes?"

"This is Yamaki. Are you alone?"

"Whether I am or not doesn't really matter," she replied. "All I know is that something's just happened."

"It's at Takato and Jenrya's High School," Yamaki said. "With Jenrya incapacitated..."

"Roger that. I'll be right there."

As she cut the signal, Ruki gave Minami another brief glance. "You need to return to the classroom."

Minami just blinked a bit, looking perplexed. "Where are you going...?"

Shoving the cell into her pocket, Ruki spun around and began walking away. "Not important. Just tell Sensei that I had something that needed to be taken care of... I shouldn't be long. I'm guessing..." She eyed a clock hanging on the wall. She couldn't be too cocky this time. "Forty minutes at most."

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 09- "Friend"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

To put it simply, Hirokazu was completely freaking lost. One moment, he had been walking through the hallway with Takato... and the next, everything had grown dark, the power had went out, and Takato had fallen to his knees screaming. All of these had happened almost all at once, and it was if something about the darkness had struck Takato with a force that completely bypassed Hirokazu.

The spiky-haired boy kneeled down next to Takato, who looked as if he was going to tear his hair out. The other boy's eyes were wide open, filled with fear... yet he didn't seem to even _see_ Hirokazu.

"Takato!" Hirokazu exclaimed, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "Man, snap out of it!"

Of course, this did nothing. Takato just continued staring ahead, blankly and fearfully. "D-Dad..."

Hearing Takato utter that word, in the way that he did, was almost painful. Hirokazu was fully aware of how long it had been since Matsuda Takehiro passed away. How it must still constantly haunt Takato every day... and this... the way he was acting...

"Mom!" Takato suddenly doubled over, his hands covering his face. "No... not real... don't... not you..."

Hirokazu could only stare wide-eyed as his friend's body began to shake while he sobbed uncontrollably. This was just insane! It was if Takato had been knocked down by some kind of nightmare. Which didn't make any sense, obviously.

Smacking his own face, Hirokazu groaned. He grabbed Takato by his shirt and lifted him back upright. "TAKATO!" he yelled, although he realized at this point that no matter how loudly he talked, Takato probably wouldn't hear him. "I hope you realize that if I have to drag your ass to the nurse's office over something stupid like this, people like the Kobayashi brothers are just going to have more ammo!"

Nothing. Other than the tears that were now flowing freely from Takato's eyes, nothing had changed. About now, Hirokazu was pretty much ready to pull his _own_ hair out. He opened his mouth again, but then promptly shut it. He would just be talking to himself, and he didn't want to look any stupider if anyone wandered out and saw them...

The brief quiet was quickly cut as he heard a shout from elsewhere. Looking quickly in the direction of the nearest classroom, he jumped to his feet, ran over, and threw the door open. Within, he found that every single person inside was in much the same position as Takato. All the students were slumped over or sprawled out on the floor, looking to be wide awake... but fear was etched on every face. They shed tears, screamed, and otherwise looked to be just on the edge of going completely out of control. None of them noticed each other in all of this, much less Hirokazu.

"What the hell?" he muttered, and then ran over to the next classroom. It was the same thing. He shut that door quickly, unable to stand the sight for much longer. Returning to Takato, he knelt back down. "Dude... what the hell's going on here? And why am I the only one..."

"N-not real..." Takato murmured, obviously still in his own little world. "This... Field..."

Wasn't he?

"Can't... let this... but... Mom..." With that, Takato once more fell over and began crying.

Hirokazu sighed and sat himself on the floor. He bit his lip and stared out at the dark hallway, trying as hard as he could to figure out what to do. This was just _way_ too weird. He should seek out the authorities, but just leaving everyone like this was something that he had a hard time bringing himself to do. There was something about the whole thing... Something that told him he needed to stay where he was.

His brief pondering was, however, cut abruptly short. He started to see something moving in the hallway. No, not moving... _appearing._ As if it just came out of thin air, something began to appear before him...

Seeing what he saw, his eyes went wide as his body froze up, fear and shock hitting him all at once. Floating behind Takato was what looked to be some sort of ghost. As if a bed sheet had been draped over something with claws, fangs, and red glowing eyes. Just seeing a monster like this so suddenly out of the blue was bad enough, but he immediately recognized just what it was. From those games he always used to play... The ones that he still liked, but had kept to himself for so long.

It was a _digimon._ He was staring straight at a real DIGIMON, of all things. A Bakemon, to be exact. And it was headed straight for the both of them.

Hirokazu snapped back to reality, setting aside his fear and awe. He tackled Takato, knocking the other boy to the ground, and the Bakemon flew over them, its claw barely missing them both. It quickly realized this, however, and turned around to look at them both. That brief bit of movement was all Hirokazu could muster, though. Much as he tried to tell them to move, his legs were _not_ carrying him away from this. Of course, at the same time, if he ran, then Takato would be at this thing's mercy...

"Tamer," the Bakemon said, red eyes shifting to Takato. "You're the one..."

"Oh shit," Hirokazu gulped, not understanding what the thing meant, but knowing it couldn't be good. "Oh shit, ohshit, ohshitohshit-"

"HANDS OFF!"

Something else suddenly streaked into Hirokazu's view. Some... purple, little imp-thing, wearing red gloves and a scarf. Another digimon. The little demon punched the Bakemon in the side of the head, and the ghost was sent into the wall. The attacking digimon landed on the ground and grinned.

"Geez," the digimon said, thumbing his nose. "The kid's sure gonna feel dumb for tellin' me to go home now." He glanced over to Takato. "Ain't that right?" The grin quickly faded as he saw Takato's condition. "Kid...?"

The moment of attention he spared to Takato, however, was one moment too many. "BEHIND YOU!" Hirokazu exclaimed, almost without even thinking about it, but it was too late. The Bakemon smacked Impmon away, and he was tossed into and through a classroom door. The creature then immediately turned its attention back to Takato.

"The supposed 'Shadow Tamer,' cowering before the shadows," the Bakemon said, drifting down the hallway. The ghost scowled slightly. "If you were truly what they thought, you wouldn't be about to die..."

"Th-this..." Takato stammered. "Digital Field... It's.. not..."

Hirokazu gulped hard, his eyes darting back and forth between Takato and the approaching Bakemon. This was so unreal, but it was happening, and he was helpless to do anything about it.

Takato's eyes suddenly snapped wide open, his fearful look subsiding. "This isn't real!" At least, that look vanished for a moment, until he saw the Bakemon flying straight at him. "...oh crap."

"DIE!" the Bakemon cried, thrusting his claw forward. For a second, Takato seemed as frozen with fear as Hirokazu.

Then, he raised up a hand and shut his eyes tightly. "C'mon," he muttered to himself. "Just have to concentrate..." His eyes opened again as a small light pulsed out from the palm of his hand. "DRAW FIELD!"

The light from Takato's hand seemed expand, creating a bubble around the both of them. It was like some sort of shield, inexplicably pushing back the darkness that surrounded them. The ghost slammed against it, and with a crackle of some sort of energy, was blown back. The bubble fluctuated a bit from the digimon's contact, but held. "Ta- Takato..." Hirokazu muttered. "What. The. HELL.

Takato blinked hard, and then looked at the other teenager. "I... don't suppose you would buy that you're having a hallucination, would you?"

Hirokazu's mouth flapped, but nothing came out.

"SUMMON!" a shout came out from the room the small demon had been tossed into. "ICE!" Still recovering from slamming against Takato's shield, the Bakemon had no chance to react as a shard of ice went flying out of the doorway. It plowed straight through the ghost digimon and embedded itself into the hallway's wall. Not even having the chance to scream, Brakemen's body then... blew apart, breaking down into little floating red fragments.

Takato shoved a hand into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small silver and purple device. "Data Load!" he shouted, and the fragments promptly flew straight into the device, causing it to glow briefly.

"Kid!" the demon growled as he came running out of the room. "What the shit was that? I killed that thing! That was my data to load!"

"You killed it..." Takato mumbled thoughtfully, and then shook his head hard. "I was just doing what Shuichon-chan did against the Allomon a couple of days ago, Impmon. I figured that's what we're supposed to do..."

"That was my data!" Impmon snarled. "MINE."

Takato looked down at his device, and just shrugged. "Well, not much I can do about it now..."

Impmon screamed, pulling at his short fur. "For the love of... all that work for nothin'!"

Hirokazu was about ready to faint. That is, if there hadn't been a part of his mind fearing he would wind up in the same position as Takato was just in if he did so. He also wanted to run away screaming from seeing these monsters actually living, but his legs still didn't want to follow his commands.

"Hey," Hirokazu spoke up meekly. He raised a hand as he spoke, and then quickly dropped it as he saw he was visibly shaking. "Care to explain this crap to me...?"

Both Takato and Impmon looked at him, and the young man sighed. "Well, this really isn't good," he muttered. "Guess I don't have much of a choice, though."

"Well, I could do somethin' about him if ya wanted," Impmon said with a sadistic grin that made Hirokazu want to run even MORE.

"IMPMON!" Takato shouted, glaring at the digimon.

"What'd I tell you about getting a sense of humor?"

"What did I tell YOU about violence?"

Hirokazu groaned and buried his face in one hand. This was not going to be fun...

* * *

"Something's wrong," Ruki said as she was held in Renamon's arms while the fox bounded from rooftop to rooftop.

The digimon's eyes narrowed, landing on a railing and running along the thin surface with ease. "About this Wild One?"

Ruki nodded, her usual look of solid confidence wavering a bit as she frowned. "The closer and closer we get, the more this Digital Field seems just like IceDevimon's. IceDevimon wasn't some random Wild One, either. He targeted me specifically. This one's not as strong as his Ice Field, but I'm still certain of it... This digimon's a Field Controller as well."

"So what you're thinking is," Renamon paused in her speech as she bounced in-between two buildings, "if IceDevimon targeted you, and a digimon of the same type of power appeared so quickly after him..."

"It appeared at Takato and Jenrya's school," Ruki said. "That can't be a coincidence, can it? Jenrya's home recovering, so that only leaves Takato to fend for himself. Who knows where his partner is. That rookie doesn't even understand the first thing about being a Tamer..."

There wasn't any need for Renamon to reply. She understood exactly what her Tamer meant, and quickened her pace.

* * *

"Aw man," Hirokazu sighed, running a hand through his spiky hair. He leaned up against a wall and examined Impmon. "This is just... surreal."

Takato had finished his explanation. Or an abridged version of it, anyway. Yamaki had warned him about letting anyone know, but here he had been forced to come out with things without any choice. "You can't tell anyone about it, though," Takato said. "If you did... well. Things probably wouldn't turn out too well."

Hirokazu just grinned, giving the other teenager a thumb's up. "No problem, man. That's what friends are for, right?"

Takato stared at him for a few moments, still not used to Hirokazu starting to act like his old self again. He then smiled back and nodded. "Thanks."

"But anyway," Hirokazu said. "What happened here, exactly?"

Takato scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I'm not exactly sure... we're in a Digital Field right now. I know that much. This is what appears when a digimon crosses over. This one feels just like the one that appeared the other day and caused that freak snowstorm." Hirokazu almost seemed surprised that statement, but it was obvious that any possible surprise was considerably lessened by then. "Which means that we're probably dealing with a powerful one..."

"That's not what I meant," Hirokazu said. "I meant... what happened to YOU? Take a look at any of the classrooms around here. That was you five minutes ago."

"Yeah, you were curled up cryin' like a little baby when I came on the scene," Impmon stated matter-of-factly.

"What I saw..." Takato trailed off. Putting it into words was somehow difficult. "It was some sort of nightmare... I saw Dad just before he died. Then I saw Mom, and right in front of me... she... she was..." He stopped himself as those images came back into his mind rather vividly. Seeing his mother's broken body before him, blood all around, while voices cackled in the distance. All of this, with a penetrating feeling that all of it was his fault...

"Takato." The boy nearly jumped again as he heard Hirokazu's voice, and found him putting a hand onto his shoulder. Takato realized his own eyes were tearing up, and he quickly wiped them. "Dude, don't go blanking out on us again."

"Next time I'm giving you a swift kick in the ass, got it?" Impmon added.

Takato smiled weakly, nodding. "Right... I'll keep that in mind." Then, as he had a moment to think, it hit him. If the students in these other classrooms were out like he had been, seeing vivid, horrible nightmares, that meant... "Juri!" Takato broke away from Hirokazu, and started to run back to his classroom. "If everyone else is like that, then the others-!"

"TAKATO!" Hirokazu shouted as both her and Impmon ran after the Tamer.

He didn't stop until he reached the classroom, opening the door. The sight inside was... disturbing, to say the least. With everyone sprawled out, the looks on their faces... it made Takato sick to his stomach. Even seeing Norio like that felt so incredibly wrong. On the other side of the room, though, was Juri. She was sitting up against the wall, hugging her legs up against her chest. She was definitely out of it, just like the others. "Juri..." he gulped, walking over to her. The crying of various other students was enough to make him shiver. Seeing Juri doing the same was just painful.

She made no sounds, however. She just rocked back and forth, a strangely blank look on her face as tears streamed out of her eyes. _What is it she's seeing?_ Takato thought as he knelt down next to her. _If it's even half as horrible as what I saw..._

Juri's lips moved, struggling to get a sound out. "D-... De... Destiny..."

Takato frowned deeply. "Juri, c'mon..." Of course, he knew she couldn't hear him or see him. He clenched a fist, his anger rising. He couldn't stand this. He had to do something... and as he heard Hirokazu and Impmon come up behind him, he knew that he could do just that. If he used his Draw Field, he could wake her up...

Looking around, however, he also realized that if he did that, she would be aware of what was going on. He would have to explain all of this to her, just as he had done with Hirokazu. Only this time it would be his own choice, going against what Yamaki had demanded of him. It would also be selfish, he realized... he couldn't afford to wake everyone. There were digimon roaming around, and given that the Digital Field still stood, he knew the source wasn't that Bakemon. It would blow everything if so many people became aware of their existence...

Still, there was Juri. He knew that due to this Digital Field, she was suffering inside. She had always tried to help him so much, and yet he had never been able to do anything in return...

Nodding silently, he made his decision, holding out one hand. "Kid?" Impmon asked. "What're you doing?"

"Waking her up," Takato said.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Hirokazu asked. "I mean, if she sees all this crap..."

"It's better than whatever she's seeing right now," Takato muttered. "And... wait a second." He glanced back at the spiky-haired boy. "How did you wind up not getting affected by the Field?" Hirokazu just looked at him blankly, scratched his head, and then shrugged. "...I... see." He looked back at Juri. "I just can't let her stay stuck in that nightmare."

He concentrated again, knowing he had to create the Draw Field smaller this time. Light appeared briefly from his palm, and then formed into a bubble that surrounded both Takato and Juri. As the darkness itself was shoved away, the effect on Juri was almost instant. She blinked her eyes hard and stared at Takato... before suddenly lunging forward and hugging him. This, in effect, surprised him so much that his Draw Field collapsed as he fell on his back with her right on top of him.

"Um... J-J-J-Juri!" Takato stammered, his face a very bright crimson. Juri pulled away a bit, glanced at their position, and quickly jumped off him.

"Sorry, I just... I, err," she mumbled, her cheeks flushed... before she looked around, seeing the various students. And Impmon.

"Yo," Impmon smirked, giving her a wink. "'Sup, babe?"

Juri's jaw fell open as Takato and Hirokazu both looked at one another very nervously. Then... she screamed.

* * *

"Ruki, I just realized something," Renamon said, bouncing off a flag pole.

"What's that, exactly?" Ruki questioned.

"Impmon and his Tamer," she said, "what all did they wind up getting taught before we got caught up fighting IceDevimon?"

"Well, I told them about the Draw Fields and Psi Cards, anyway," Ruki said. Renamon landed on another rooftop and ran along the flat surface. "Why?"

"So you DID teach Takato how to use the cards, then."

"Well, I told him what they DO," she said, and then her violet eyes went wide.

"Ruki...?"

"..."

"Right. Move faster.

* * *

Having once again explained himself, this time with Hirokazu helping him along the way, Takato sat in a hallway with the young man, Juri, and Impmon. Actually, both boys were currently just sort of staring at her as she was... well, hugging Impmon rather tightly. "He's just so cute!" she proclaimed.

"She's taking this well," Hirokazu whispered to Takato.

Takato wasn't really sure that she fully understood just how much danger they were in. Or maybe she was just good at hiding things. Whatever the reason, he was just glad she took all of this better than he was expecting...

The Tamer looked at Impmon. His digimon actually didn't seem to mind his position, despite his obvious difficulty in breathing. Then, he realized that Impmon was squeezed right up against Juri's chest. His eyes widened, and he looked at Hirokazu as the spiky-haired boy obviously just came to the same conclusion. Impmon looked back at both of them and just grinned, pointing at the girl's chest to emphasize his point. Luckily for him, Takato imagined, this went unnoticed by Juri.

"That little bastard," Hirokazu muttered beneath his breath. "When this is over, I swear..."

"Please don't," Takato mumbled nervously. "That would, uh, kind of hurt me too... though I know it's tempting..." Actually, thinking about it, Shuichon had called Impmon 'cute' too. That was something Takato really, really couldn't understand.

"What about the others, though?" Juri suddenly asked, her voice becoming more serious. "If you said they're all like I was, then..." She shuddered. "Can't we help them, too?"

Takato sighed. He knew that she was going to ask something like that. It was hard to resist the temptation, too, to ask what she saw in her nightmare. With the look she had on her face, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "If I just go around flashing my Draw Field, it's not going to fix this problem... we have to find the source. We just need to figure out where that is."

"I see," Juri said, smiling a little sadly. "If that's the case, then I'm sure we'll be fine. You're the only one here that can stop this. Right, Takato-kun?" Takato just nodded. "Seeing what I just have, then... I don't have any choice but to believe that. So knowing that it's you... as I said, we'll be fine."

Takato's cheeks turned red again. "I really hope you're right..."

"Guys, touching as all this is," Hirokazu spoke up, jumping to his feet, "I think we should maybe, sort of look at the end of the hallway. Just a suggestion before I start running."

Takato, Juri, and Impmon did just that and found several Bakemon flying down the hall. "DRAW FIELD!" Takato called out once more, the field of energy surging out to protect him and his friends. He then grabbed his head, suddenly feeling a bit woozy. As if doing it this time had put more strain on his mind than the times before. "Impmon," he said, pulling out his D-Ark, "we don't have any choice."

Impmon gave a laugh, popping out of Juri's arms. "No prob, kid!" he exclaimed, running outside the Field. "Just do that card thingy like those other guys and I'll wipe the floor with these punks!"

Takato's face suddenly went completely blank, and his D-Ark clattered on the floor as he felt himself go sort of... limp. "Oh crap," he mumbled, and then hit himself in the head several times. "CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!"

"What's wrong, Takato-kun?" Juri asked.

"We were so busy fighting IceDevimon that we never got the chance," Takato gulped, clutching his hair. "Ruki, Shuichon-chan, Jen... none of them taught me HOW to use the Psi Cards!"

'Just think about it,' was the most Takato had gotten in terms of instructions on how to use them. Well, he was certainly thinking right then, and nothing was happening.

Impmon screeched to a halt, despite the fact the Bakemon were still flying straight at him. "WHAT?"

Takato just bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry?"

"SORRY?" Impmon snapped. "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO OUT HERE?"

"Well, you think you're so tough!" Takato shot back, his head jerking back up. "I figured you would know what you're doing!"

"It HELPS when the digimon's Tamer KNOWS HOW TO BE A FREAKIN' TAMER, DUMBASS!"

"I reeeaaally don't think this is a time you guys want to be fighting," Hirokazu gulped as the Bakemon were almost on top of Impmon now. Impmon snarled and turned around, fireballs lighting up on his fingertips.

"Okay, shitheads!" the small demon shouted. "Lets party!"

The gaggle of Bakemon released a howl in reply, and then bunched together. The fireballs Impmon had lit fizzled out and his hands dropped to his sides as he saw what happened next. Namely, the Bakemon all somehow melding into one GIANT Bakemon. Spinning around, Impmon went running straight back for Takato's Draw Field. "LEMME BACK IN!" Once behind the safety of the energy shield, he promptly dropped to the ground and covered his face.

"You chicken!" Hirokazu snapped at the small demon.

"Oh yeah?" Impmon asked, jerking back upright. "Lets see you fight that thing with a worthless partner!"

Takato frowned, but at the same time sort of understood his position. The large Bakemon barely fit in the narrow hallway, and looking at it, it was obvious a Child-level digimon wasn't going to defeat it unassisted. He wanted to take issue with Impmon calling him 'worthless,' yet he also knew that he really _couldn't_ do much to help him...

The large Bakemon gave a horrible scream as its claw thrust out, colliding with Takato's Draw Field. However, it wasn't tossed back like normal. Energy crackled against its claw, but the large ghost kept on pushing against the shield. Takato gave a gasp, holding his head as that woozy feeling returned. At the same time, the Draw Field began to go into some sort of flux, with the darkness of the Digital Field seeping into it. The energy pushing back the Bakemon, as well, was starting to lessen with each passing second.

"Takato-kun!" Juri exclaimed. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Takato squinted as his vision started to blur, and he wiped his brow, suddenly finding himself sweating. The stress that the Bakemon was putting on his Field... it was as if was pressing against his mind as well. He couldn't hold this for much longer, but why was it so different this time?

"GIHEHEHEHE!" came the sound of a shrill laugh filling the hallways. It wasn't the Bakemon. It was definitely someone else. "Aww, has the poor wittle Tamer exhausted himself? Yes, yes! It seems he has!"

"What the hell?" Hirokazu and Impmon chorused in unison.

"Indeed, indeed!" the voice exclaimed. "You really are stupid for what you're supposed to be! Gihehehe! You don't even know your own powers, or how to truly conquer my Nightmare Field!"

"Nightmare Field?" Takato repeated, and then looked at the Bakemon continuing to bear on his shield. "Those dreams... How all of those Bakemon became this thing... They're both apart of the same thing?"

"Very, very good!" the voice replied. "Not that it'll help you much! GIEHEHE!"

"Impmon," Takato muttered, trying to focus past the sharp pain stabbing through his brain. If his focus and his mind somehow went towards the Draw Field's power, he had to keep his thoughts steady. "You were afraid of these things when you were out there, weren't you?"

"I ain't afraid of nothin'!" Impmon shot at his Tamer.

"Then why did you run back in here?" Hirokazu asked, deadpan.

Impmon scratched his chin nervously. "Um, err..."

"We can't be afraid," Takato said, getting onto his feet. "This whole Digital Field is preying on our fears. That's what this thing is fighting us with. If we try not to be afraid, then maybe we can-"

There was a sudden crashing sound, cutting into Takato's speech before something big and black flew out from a room. It rammed into the Bakemon and the giant ghost crashed straight through the hallway's wall. It fell out into the school yard below, leaving the short digimon and three teens in shock at the sight.

"...or, hey, we could always wait for the nearest deus ex machina," Hirokazu said. "Y'know. Whichever comes first."

Takato immediately recognized the large figure that had struck the Bakemon to be Dobermon. The dog digimon looked down through the hole he had created just as the Bakemon started to pick itself up from the rubble. "SCHWARZ STRAHL!" the beast cried, releasing a black beam of energy from his mouth. It struck the Bakemon and obliterated it from existence before it could even think about striking back.

"I had hoped you would have realized things sooner, Matsuda-kun," a soft, female voice said. Alice walked out of the room Dobermon had burst from, holding her hands behind her back. Her black & silver D-Ark rested in one of those hands. "Unfortunately..."

Dobermon spun around and dashed at Takato's Draw Field. He rammed his head into it, causing the Field to shatter and Takato to scream. As he began to fall over, both Hirokazu and Juri caught him.

"Hey!" Hirokazu shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I mean no ill intent," Alice said calmly. "The fact remains, however, it wasn't feasible for Matsuda-kun to hold his Draw Field any longer. As an inexperienced Tamer, his personal Psi-energy had already been depleted far too much. Had I not intervened, you four would now be dead. Even if you are the Shadow Tamer, your powers mean nothing until you learn them." She rested a hand on Dobermon's head as he returned to her, gently stroking the dog digimon's fur. "That is why I exist now as the Death Tamer. It is for your benefit, Matsuda-kun..."

Takato pushed himself away from his friends as he slowly felt his strength return, and found himself able to stand on his own again. "I'm the... Shadow Tamer?" Takato asked, only really grasping half of everything she had just said. Actually, this is the first time he remembered her talking so much.

"So Alice-chan is like you, Takato-kun?" Juri asked, glancing back and forth between Impmon and Dobermon.

"Yeah," Takato said absently, scratching the side of his head. "I think."

Hirokazu grinned, punching Takato in the arm softly. "Ooh, so that's why you were searching for her!"

Takato gave the spiky-haired teenager an annoyed look. "I told you it wasn't anything like what your gutter-mind thought up."

"Gutter-mind?" Juri said, giving Hirokazu a look that was surprisingly dangerous. "Just WHAT did you think Alice-chan and Takato-kun were doing?"

Hirokazu held up his hands with some nervous laughter. "Hey, hey, Katou! It was just a joke!"

Juri looked away from him, crossing her arms. "I always knew you were a pervert."

Alice just stared with her usual, unemotional face, obviously uninterested in their conversation. "The source of this Digital Field," Alice continued, ignoring Takato's friends, "that is what you should be searching for. This Field Controller will only grow stronger with each passing moment as your fears continue to build upon themselves."

"What am I supposed to do, though?" the male Tamer asked. "I don't know anything about this, like Ruki, Jen, or you..."

"Did you not listen to me?" Alice asked, a phrase that would sound annoyed coming from anyone else from her. "My existence is for your benefit, Matsuda-kun. Now, come..." She paused, glancing at Hirokazu, and then Juri. "These people are not Tamers. They should not interfere with matters that don't concern them."

"Takato-kun's our friend!" Juri proclaimed, grabbing Takato's arm and causing him to blush.

"Yeah, lady," Hirokazu said, clamping a hand down on the male Tamer's shoulder. "We ain't abandoning him." He then smiled sadly. "Not again..."

"Yay!" Impmon exclaimed with thick sarcasm. "_More_ useless targets!"

"Your partner digimon is correct," Alice said. "They are liabilities."

Takato just smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "That doesn't matter," he said. "They're my friends. I don't want to put them in any danger, but if they want to come with me, I can't stop them."

"I see," Alice replied. "If that is your wish..."

Takato nodded. "It is." Alice just nodded and turned away from them to start walking. Takato stared after her, and then spoke up again. "Oh, and thank you." Those words made the blonde girl stop. "That's the second time you and Dobermon have saved me."

Alice was silent for several moments, and then looked back at him briefly. Surprisingly, a small smile had formed on her lips. "That is merely what I am needed to do, Matsuda-kun. Now, let us go."

As Alice and Dobermon, followed by Juri and Impmon, started to walk off again, Takato found himself... not moving. Hirokazu gave him another punch in the arm, this one considerably harder. This made Takato jump... and Impmon yelp and grab his own arm. As the demon glared back at them, Hirokazu just smirked.

"What was that for?" Takato asked, rubbing his now-sore arm.

"You were blushing again," Hirokazu snickered, his voice low. "Not to mention just staring. And this time not at Katou."

It took a moment for what Hirokazu said to register in his mind, and then he paid his friend back by giving HIM a punch in the arm. "You're imagining things!" Takato protested, running up ahead to Juri and his partner.

Hirokazu just laughed as he ran behind him. "Hey, whatever you say, man!"

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** That ended a little similarly to Realization 05, I know, but... that's just the way things wound up happening. ; Oh well.

* * *

_"The Nightmare Field's Controller is revealed, but with Takato's strength drained, what can they do against an enemy that can use their own fears as a weapon?"  
**Next: Realization 10- "Activation"**_


	11. Realization 10: Activation

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Toei Animation and Bandai. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Notes:** Y'know, I realized I keep forgetting to slap the current set of warnings for this series up on every chapter, since it's something that should probably be done. I'll do that now. Oh, and this is the longest chapter of ID yet. Hah! Oh, and I changed the name of a couple Psi Cards in this chapter. Not much, but some slight tweaks to the naming scheme a couple had earlier on. I'll go back and change those soon.  
**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** (For those that actually find it important) Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

Renamon's speed and precision across the rooftops of Shinjuku was really quite incredible. Even more incredible was how fast she was moving while carrying Ruki. Not that this was any surprise to the Tamer; she had long since become accustomed to her digimon's extraordinary abilities. That fact didn't make it any less impressive, though. The redhead instantly recognized Takato's high school once they reached it, even though she had never been to it. The thick blanket of black fog covering it kind of tipped her off.

"This is going to be difficult for Hypnos to explain," said the fox as she landed atop a building overlooking the Digital Field.

"That's putting it a tad mildly," Ruki said, narrowing her eyes as she tried to sense anything or any_one_ through the Field.

"Anything?"

"Nothing," Ruki replied. "You?"

"I don't sense any individuals," Renamon said. "I can tell that Wild Ones lay within, but... I can't pinpoint them. Nor can I pinpoint Impmon. There is something however. Something disturbing..."

Ruki raised an eyebrow. That seemed like a somewhat odd comment coming from her. "Disturbing? Like how?"

"That's just the thing," Renamon said. "I'm unsure just what it is. All I know is that I have a bad feeling about us going in there."

The Tamer gave her partner a small smirk. "You're nervous. After everything we've been faced with, I never thought I'd see the day..."

"It's not nervousness," Renamon said quickly, and Ruki could almost swear she seemed embarrassed. "There's just something about this Digital Field I don't like."

"Well, like it or not," Ruki said, staring down at the mass of fog, "we don't have any choice but to just plunge in. So lets just do this and hope no one's gotten killed yet."

Nodding silently, Renamon took a running leap off the roof. Holding Ruki tight so as to not lose her grip, the fox fell through the black fog and landed on top of the school building. The inside of the Field was, as expected, quite dark. Not quite as dark as night, but enough to make the whole place give off a disturbing feeling. As Renamon set Ruki on her feet, the girl noticed something very distinctively different about this place...

There wasn't any change to the weather. It was still the slightly cool, crisp air that had been outside. On top of that, there was a suddenly feeling in Ruki's mind. It was a sharp, stabbing pain, and with that, she could feel things start to almost slip away around her... and she could feel horrible memories start to bubble up to the surface once more.

Clenching her hand, she thrust it out suddenly. "DRAW FIELD!" The bubble of energy sprouted out around her, shoving the darkness away in all directions, and freeing her mind from that feeling.

"Ruki?" Renamon questioned, blinking in confusion as she looked around. Obviously, there was nothing attacking them, and Renamon didn't seem to have the same reaction to the Field as her human partner.

"Gihehehe," a voice quietly giggled from all around. "Very, very good Seeing Tamer, yes!"

"Renamon," Ruki spoke, grabbing her D-Ark. "You sense where that's coming from?" She asked, knowing that she couldn't herself, and knowing what her partner's answer was likely to thus be. Renamon only shook her head, and the Tamer sighed. "Whoever you are, come out and show yourself!"

"You think I'm stupid?" the shrill voice asked, his tone sounding offended. "Come and find me, Ruki-CHAN, and maybe we can play! GIHEHE!"

Ruki stared blankly for just a moment to let everything he said sink in and then growled. "Oh, he is DEAD..."

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 10- "Activation"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

As they walked through the halls of his school, Takato earnestly wished for the ability to just shut the sounds of everything around him out. They couldn't walk past any classrooms without hearing fellow students or teachers crying or screaming with fear. Worse was when they would pass those that were out in a hallway when the Digital Field had appeared. Just simply passing them by was a difficult thing to do, but there wasn't anything else Takato _could_ do at that point. He wished he could just summon a Draw Field so large that it would take everyone out of the nightmares, and cancel out the entire Digital Field. He knew better than that, however, and knew his powers couldn't go that far.

They couldn't really go far at all, if what Alice said about having drained his energy was true. Eyeing the blonde girl walking ahead of them, he did have to wonder once more what her deal was. He was quickly realizing this wasn't the best time for that, though...

"So, um, Alice," Takato asked, walking up ahead of the group. "Just where are we headed in here?"

"I don't know," the blonde girl said calmly.

"You don't KNOW?" Impmon spat. "So why the hell're you leadin' us around?"

Alice held out her D-Ark, frowning. "Unfortunately, all readings within this Digital Field seem unusually disrupted."

"Then how are we supposed to find this thing?" Takato questioned.

"This Field Controller is challenging us," she stated flatly. "Or perhaps just you... I can tell that, somehow. I believe that is definitely the case, as we haven't met enough resistance if he just simply wanted us dead. I think he wants you to find him."

Takato didn't say anything to that, but thought about it. Why would a digimon like this want to be found?

...of course, IceDevimon had been a Field Controller as well, and targeted Ruki specifically...

"Takato-kun?"

He blinked as Juri's voice broke him from his thoughts. Glancing to where she was hanging further back with Hirokazu and Impmon, he stopped until they reached him. As he continued walking alongside them, he noticed that there was a distinct, fearful look in the girl's eyes. Which, given the situation they were in, probably wasn't the best thing for her to have, but he really couldn't blame her.

"You know, I was thinking," she murmured, looking down at Impmon. "When he was taken to the hospital on that night, Katoki said that it was a demon controlled by you that burned him..."

Takato's eyes widened, and he immediately looked away from her. He had completely forgotten their conversation about that...

_"He may be laid up in the hospital,"_ she had said back on that day, _"but one of the main things he's apparently been screaming about is that it's all your fault. I wouldn't believe too much in what he says, though."_

"Why…?"

"Whatever happened to him seems to have done something to his mind. He apparently keeps screaming that a demon or a monster is what attacked him. A demon or monster commanded by you…_ and this was apparently _before_ they gave him enough painkillers to knock down an elephant."_ She had then paused briefly, before giving him a smile. _"Of course, that's just silly, isn't it?"_

He snapped out of his little flashback as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Realizing it was Juri's he glanced back at her, smiling weakly. "Y-yeah, it was Impmon."

The girl looked at him for a short while, and then her hand slipped away from his shoulder. "I see..."

Gulping hard, Takato stared up ahead. "I didn't want that to happen... I never thought something like that _would._ I never wanted to hurt anyone..."

"_I_ did!" Impmon proclaimed, spinning around and walking backwards so that he was facing them. "That punk just got what he had comin' to him!"

Hirokazu blinked hard. "Wait, you're the one who roasted Katoki?" Impmon nodded proudly, and the spiky-haired teenager reached down and slapped the digimon on the arm. "Hey, you're cooler than I thought!"

"How could that be considered a good thing?" Juri muttered, and Takato noticed that her body was tensing up, and her fists clenched. "To hurt someone like that..."

"Girlie, that punk was beatin' the shit outta him," Impmon said, crossing his arms and spinning back around to walk forward. "If I'd done nothin', he woulda been beaten into a bloody pulp." He looked back at her and grinned. "So y'think that'd be better?"

Juri's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "N-no! That's not what I meant, I just... I..."

"Fight back or die," Impmon said, waving a hand. "Kill or be killed. That's what you gotta understand as a digimon, and I ain't too sure it's much different for you humans."

Takato sighed, watching as Juri fell silent and looked at the ground. "Listen, I'm sorry..."

"No, I apologize," she said in a low voice. "I didn't mean anything, I just... don't quite understand."

Takato wanted to say something, but couldn't quite find the words... and any chance to do so vanished as a scream pierced the air. It was so loud, so horrible, that it made everyone stop in their tracks. Even Alice and Dobermon.

"We must follow that scream," Alice said calmly after a moment, and then continued on. "That will bring us to where we need to be..."

The remaining members of the group all gave each other nervous looks, and then cautiously began to walk after the blonde girl. Something about that scream had somehow shaken all of them more than anything they had seen thus far. "Hey, if worst comes to worst," Hirokazu said, "we could always run away like bats outta hell."

Takato gulped rather loudly. He was beginning to hope they would have that option available to them, if necessary...

* * *

"WISTERIA PUNCH!" Renamon cried as she plowed her fist straight through a Bakemon, destroying it instantly. She and Ruki were still on the school's roof, and hadn't been given the chance to really go anywhere else. Various Bakemon were randomly flying out from all directions, making it so that Renamon was left with no choice but to continually fend them off.

"This is getting old," Ruki said as another ghost digimon flew at her digimon partner from behind. Renamon flipped backwards, nailing it with both feet. That force was enough to send it into the roof's surface and make it explode. It was a rather good thing that Bakemon was so easily disposed of, though they were a pain in large numbers. Of course, Ruki was protected just fine behind her Draw Field, so she wasn't in any danger. Renamon's skills were more than enough to fight off the ghosts. It was just so _annoying._

"We certainly won't get anywhere this way," Renamon said while dodging a Bakemon's claws, and then shredding it with her own.

Ruki looked at her watch, mentally cursing herself. "I said I'd be only forty minutes. I've really got to stop timing myself."

Renamon pounded another couple of Bakemon back with her feet, and then landed in front of Ruki's Draw Field. "I thought you found doing such things 'fun.'"

'Fun' wasn't the word Ruki would have chosen. It was just a simple fact that the redhead had always been extremely competitive. It was that drive that led her to being a Tamer in the first place, but the only thing she could really find satisfaction competing with now was herself. "Yeah, but you know me," Ruki said, holding out her D-Ark. "I _hate_ losing. So lets just get this over and done with."

The Bakemon were now swarming down on them. In all her time as a Tamer, she had never seen this many digimon Realized all at once. This was easily one of the worst Digital Fields she had ever seen. Thus, there was no need to hold back. In her free palm, a small ball of energy appeared, and she brought it against the device in her other hand. "PSI-LINK! EVOLUTION!"

"Renamon, EVOLVE!" Blue light swallowed up Renamon, and her form changed into a digimon that was almost exactly like Youkomon, save for her yellow fur. More importantly, THIS form didn't have the wild, insane look that Youkomon did. "KYUUBIMON!"

Kyuubimon quickly spun around, knocking back several Bakemon with her large nine tails. She then dashed forward, plowing through another group of them and destroying several with her fiery claws. Once reaching the edge of the rooftop, she turned again, eyeing the remaining ghosts. "DEMON FIREBALL!" The ends of her flaming tails lit up even brighter, and nine fireballs launched themselves out at the ghosts. As if the fireballs had minds of their own, they plowed through each and every remaining Bakemon until there was nothing left, and then just blinked out of sight.

Seeing so much data rise up and dissipate, Kyuubimon frowned. "How did so many digimon cross over like that?"

Letting her Draw Field vanish, Ruki could only shake her head as she walked over to her partner. "Beats me. With both this, and the Ice Field, I don't understand how we never saw them coming."

"Well then, with that out of the way, shall we-!" Kyuubimon's speech was cut off as something streaked out, wrapping tightly around her neck. It was a metal chain, and as whatever threw it pulled it tighter, Kyuubimon's eyes widened and she began to gag.

Ruki's eyes reacted much like her partner's, and the girl found herself dropping to her knees, gasping for air. She was feeling Kyuubimon's pain, and thus the chain was choking the both of them. "Wh-what," Ruki gasped, "how..."

"So much for being one of the 'Legendary' Tamers," a voice scoffed, and Ruki saw another ghost digimon floating up over the side of the building. In addition to holding the chain, it also held a large scythe. It was dressed in gray and a red cloak that obscured its face, allowing them to only see a pair of yellow eyes. Ruki instantly recognized what this was without analyzing it: Phantomon. A _Perfect_-level digimon.

"That's impossible," Ruki croaked out. "A Perfect-level has never-GAH!"

Phantomon tightened the chain again, making Kyuubimon fall down and quieting Ruki. "How little you realize, child."

"A-are you th- the Field Controller?" Ruki said slowly, barely able to speak.

"Hardly," Phantomon said. "I am merely another servant to advance my master's grand designs. He knew that _you_ would come, so I am here to make sure you go no further."

"Your master...?"

"Indeed," the phantom digimon said, his eyes starting to glow. "You know exactly who that is, Legendary Seeing Tamer. Please understand that fact as you die, knowing how miserably you failed."

Both Ruki and Kyuubimon were now trying desperately to breathe, but that was becoming harder with each passing second. _If a digimon this strong isn't the Field Controller, then what is?_ Ruki asked to herself. _And his master... that couldn't be..._

Staying conscious was becoming more and more difficult. As this happened her concentration began to waver, and that sharp pain caused by this Digital Field began to return. With that came the feeling of her world disappearing from all around. She knew she was about ready to pass out, and that was knocking down her resistance. She didn't know what this Digital Field was trying to do to her, and she really didn't _want_ to. All she knew is that she needed to find a way out of the mess she was in... fast.

* * *

The scream continued. A horrible shrieking bouncing through the hallways of the school that only prompted Takato's group to move faster. With the passing of every moment, however, Takato could quickly see Juri's confidence dropping. "Are you sure you want to come with us?" Takato said in a low voice so that Alice didn't hear him.

The young woman nodded. "Of course, I've already said that, haven't I? You're my friend, Takato-kun..."

"And don't even try and ask me that question again!" Hirokazu exclaimed, grinning.

They reached a split in the hallway. "So," Impmon huffed, holding his chest from the running he had just done, "which way?"

Alice's eyes narrowed, and quickly spun around to look behind the group. The others followed what she did, and found a gaggle of Bakemon flying from the direction they had come. Likewise, down the right side of the hallway they then faced came another flock of the ghost digimon. This left only the left side clear, and that was where the screaming was coming from.

"Matsuda-kun," Alice said, taking a look at the male Tamer. "Take the left way and find the Field Controller. For us to continue, one of us must stay here and fend off these digimon."

Takato gulped again, and this was echoed by Impmon. "But I don't even know how to use the Psi Cards. And I can't make a Draw Field anymore..."

"You are the Shadow Tamer," Alice said. "You have the ability to do this... it all depends on whether or not you truly wish to. Now, go."

He looked at her for another moment, but then smiled and went dashing off down the left hall. He didn't look back, because he knew that if he did, he likely wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave her and Dobermon against those odds. This had to be finished, however. They had to free all of these people from the Field's effects...

"This is gonna _blow_," Impmon grunted.

The screaming had stopped, but since they couldn't turn back, there was no choice but to hope this Field Controller truly was in the direction they were headed. Looking down at his D-Ark, Takato fiddled with the buttons. Ruki HAD said that his D-Ark would tell him what Psi Cards he had available, she just didn't tell him how to get to that.

"Why did they have to send me so far up the creek without a padd-"

The group of four skid to an immediate halt as the doors of one classroom came flying off, and another Bakemon lunged out of it. Snarling, Impmon held out one hand and generated a hole in the ground. "SUMMON FLAME!"

Before the Bakemon could even get close to them, it was quickly incenerated by the smaller digimon's attack. Blinking for a second, Takato held out his device and cried out, "Data Load!" As the data was promptly sucked up into his D-Ark, Impmon twitched.

"You BITCH!"

Ignoring his digimon, Takato paid attention to what the screen on his D-Ark read out this time. 'Data Card - Already Loaded; Element Card - Already Loaded.'

Hitting another couple of buttons, Takato's face suddenly brightened. "GOT IT!"

"GIHEHEHE!" The small group froze as the voice suddenly echoed from the room the Bakemon had burst from. "So glad you could find me, I am... come and see! I've got a present for you, that I do!"

Takato breathed deeply, and looked at his two human friends. "Guys... stay here. Please." Without waiting for a reply, the Tamer and his partner then cautiously made their way into the room, which seemed distinctively darker than any other place in the school. Flicking a hand out, Impmon lit a fireball on his fingertip to light the place up.

Much like any other classroom, students and a single teacher were littered about, all trapped in their various nightmares. However, there was one very, obvious difference... Up towards the front of the room, two large, demonic claws were hanging out from some sort of black portal. The claws held up a female student with short, black hair by her arms, and it was very obvious she had been through a considerable amount of hell. She was obviously injured, with bruises and deep cuts littered across her body, and her uniform was torn in several places.

It was enough to make Takato want to throw up. She was unconscious, like the rest of the students, but the fact that she would thus be stuck in a nightmare like the rest of them _really_ didn't help matters...

"Gihehe, isn't it beautiful?" the shrill little voice asked, and something suddenly popped up over the desk. Something relatively small, with brown fur. He was certainly demonic, with claws on its feet and hands, and wings coming out of its back. Its mouth was large, and hung open with a row of sharp teeth.

Holding up his D-Ark, Takato hit the device's analyzer, and quickly got a reading on the monster. "Evilmon, Adult-level digimon, Virus..."

"...you're telling me that the digimon with the single lamest name EVER is behind this?"

Takato jumped, finding Hirokazu and Juri behind him. "How long were you guys standing there?"

"Long enough to want to beat this freak's head in for doing that!" Hirokazu proclaimed, pointing at the injured girl.

Juri seemed to be on the verge of tears. "How could something do that...?"

"Oh, it was easy!" Evilmon grinned, waving a hand as he flapped up into the air. He flew up over to the girl, staring at her "Her name's Yumi... gihe, I think she looks better this way, don't you?" He pressed a claw up against her cheek and then pierced her skin with it, drawing blood. "My Nightmare Field makes these things so easy..."

"Stop it..." Takato muttered.

"Or what?" Evilmon asked, wrapping his arms around Yumi's neck. "You gonna go crying for the Death or Seeing Tamers? Hehe, sorry, but they're both kinda tied up now, yes they are!" He pressed his mouth against the girl's cheek, lapping up the blood running from the flesh wound. He then looked back at them. "This is MY Nightmare Field, and you've only seen a taste of it. Indeed, that you have!"

"You sick son of a bitch," Impmon snarled, fireballs quickly lighting up on all of his fingers.

Evilmon just giggled again, extending a hand, and then closing it. Several more black portals appeared around the group. "Lets see, lets see! Which one of you is the most fearful, hmm?" The small Adult-level digimon eyed the four, and then grinned widely as he looked at Juri. "Oooh, just as I thought... and another girl, too!"

More demonic claws suddenly shot forth from the portals, straight for Juri. His body tensing, Takato growled. "NO!"

The darkness around them suddenly seemed to... shift, as if it were an object. That darkness quickly became lessened as a part of it almost appeared to be sucked into Takato's D-Ark. The instant following that, a Draw Field sprouted up around them and blocked off the claws from reaching any of them. Thrusting out one hand, an energy card appeared out of nowhere and flipped into Takato's hand.

Juri, Hirokazu, Impmon, and even Evilmon all stared at the Tamer, their mouths hanging open in shock. "Kid," Impmon muttered, "how did you DO that?"

Takato stared down at the glowing gray card. Though made up of energy, it felt solid, and was somewhat warm. Almost comforting, in a way. "I... don't really know," he said honestly. "But I think I know now... I know what to do."

"So you mean he can run out there without an excuse to run back this time?" Hirokazu asked.

Takato blinked, and then smiled. "Just don't hurt any of the people around here, Impmon."

The small demon chuckled. "Trust me, kid, I only have ONE thing I wanna hurt here!" He leapt forward, out of the Draw Field, bounding across the desks to the other side of the room. "LET'S HIT IT!"

The digimon's Tamer nodded, sliding the card along the side of his D-Ark. "Psi Card Slash! SPEED BOOSTER!"

Impmon put out the flames on his fingertips and suddenly became a blur, slamming his fist into Evilmon's face. The Adult-level digimon was sent flying, slamming into the blackboard at the room's front. Before he could even slide back down, Impmon appeared before him in the blink of an eye, kicking the other demon in the side. Evilmon flew once more, this time crashing into the side of the wall and slumping down onto a shelf.

Groaning, Evilmon picked himself back up. Impmon was standing in plain sight now, arms crossed and grinning. "You little punk," Evilmon snarled, flapping into the air.

"Better look at yourself before you call _me_ little!" Impmon snapped, and the Adult-level demon visibly twitched.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Evilmon screamed. "NIGHTMARE SHOCK!"

A torrent of electrical power flew from Evilmon's maw, but with the Speed Booster still active, Impmon zipped out of the line of fire. As the Nightmare Shock blew away another door from the classroom, Impmon landed on a desk and thumbed his nose. "Without anyone to be afraid of you, you're nothin' but a punkass wannabe!" Impmon grinned, and then eyed his Tamer. "Takato! Lets waste this little freak!"

Takato's eyes went wide, and Hirokazu gave him an odd look. "Dude? What's wrong?"

That was the first time his partner had ever used his name, Takato realized. Smiling, and concentrating at the same time, the Tamer shook his head. "Nothing at all," he said, and produced another Psi Card in his hand. "Alright, lets finish this!"

* * *

Ruki could see things, _feel_ things... things she didn't want to see. Things she didn't want to imagine. Horrible images that she had seen in the past, or ones that could easily be a possible future. She didn't want to see them, she didn't want to think about them. Their possibilities. The feelings they brought up inside of her...

Yet, by that same token, she could tell they were fake. Images produced in her mind to try and fill her with fear. She understood what this Field Controller's power was... and after what she had dealt with recently, understanding that it wasn't real was easy. She could feel and see these things, but also knew what was occurring around her... such as the fact that Phantomon was trying to choke her and Kyuubimon.

"Such remarkable resistance," Phantomon said, sounding genuinely impressed. "Is there some particular reason, I wonder, why you can do this?"

Ruki didn't really care. She just needed a way out of this. She didn't want to see any of these things anymore... She didn't want these terrible feelings...

"Due to my connection to this Field," Phantomon said, "I can clearly see what you see, my dear... I can watch as your most precious people are destroyed and mutilated. Your digimon partner, your family, and..." The ghost digimon trailed off, and then chuckled. "Then there's _that_ person... how interesting..."

"You don't have the right," Ruki choked out, focusing as much as possible through all of these distractions. "You can't talk about them... about her!"

A glow came from Ruki's hand, and a card - a Strength Booster - flipped out into it. Unable to say anymore, she silently slid it along her D-Ark. Kyuubimon's body tensed and she suddenly jerked at Phantomon's chain, and to his surprise broke through it. Now able to breathe freely, both the digimon and Tamer took several deep breaths.

"H-how..." Phantomon stammered, floating back away from the both of them.

"You never fought a Tamer, did you?" Ruki questioned, rising onto her feet. Another card burst out of nowhere and she grabbed it. "Heh, stupid question. If you had, you'd be dead now."

Phantomon growled, readying his scythe. "You only have an Adult-level digimon!"

"Levels only matter so much," Kyuubimon scoffed. "Especially with someone like Ruki as my Tamer."

"Psi Card Slash!" Ruki cried, sliding the card. "Flame Fusion Level-Two!"

The flames on Kyuubimon's body erupted, practically engulfing her entire body in them. Eyeing the Perfect-level, Kyuubimon dashed forward, her body spinning around and morphing into a large flaming dragon. "FOX FLAME DRAGON!"

Phantomon never had the chance to defend himself. Instead, he was engulfed in the flames of the dragon and utterly destroyed in an instant. Her job done, Kyuubimon quickly shifted back into her normal form. Ruki lifted her D-Ark up and aimed it at the floating fragments of data that were now in Phantomon's place. "Data Load!"

"That was…" Kyuubimon began.

"…far too easy," Ruki finished, lowering her D-Ark.

"Regardless," Kyuubimon said, walking back to her Tamer. "We must hurry and find the Field Controller to put an end to this."

The redhead couldn't do anything other than agree. Strange as the whole situation may have been, they still had a job to do. That didn't mean she could shake the sinking feeling that there was something wrong there, though…

* * *

"Don't you even wanna know why I'm here, huh, huh?" Evilmon grinned as he fluttered back and forth across the classroom.

"I really don't care!" Impmon snapped, flinging a small fireball at him. Due to how erratic Evilmon's flight path was, though, Impmon missed him by a considerable distance. "And stay still so I can get a clear shot!"

"GIHEHE! Like that's gonna happen!"

Impmon had a point, Takato realized, as he held his second Psi Card, waiting for the right time to use it. Evilmon didn't seem to be particularly powerful beyond his Field Controller abilities, which had been rendered pretty much useless against them by that point. But he was fast and small, which presented a definite problem. "If I could just find a way to distract him," the Tamer muttered.

Hirokazu shrugged, grabbing a chair from the nearest desk within the Draw Field. "Why didn't you say so?"

"Hirokazu-kun!" Juri exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?"

The spiky-haired boy smirked. "Being stupid, probably." Hefting the chair up, Hirokazu went running out of the Draw Field. Before Evilmon even noticed him, he tossed the chair at the digimon, thus smack him with it and knocking the small creature to the floor.

Evilmon quickly sprang back up into the air, however, his attention now focused on Hirokazu. Who, after that brief bit of bravery, now seemed to look as if he wished he had never done that. The fact that he went from overconfidence to mind-numbing fear was very clear on his face, and the fact he seemed frozen in place.

Evilmon just growled, lunging across the room for the teen. Which gave Takato the chance he needed. "Psi Card Slash! FLAME FUSION LEVEL-ONE!"

Impmon gave a toothy grin, jumping to the floor and thrusting out both hands. "Hey! PIPSQUEAK!"

Evilmon practically screeched to a mid-air halt, spinning around to face Impmon again. "I TOLD YOU-!"

"SUMMON!" Impmon exclaimed, and a much larger portal than normal appeared before him. A look of realization crossed his face, and he laughed. "**INFERNO!**"

A torrent of flames gushed forth from the hole and quickly went spiraling for Evilmon. The Adult-level digimon seemed so surprised that all he could really do was stare before the flames plowed into him. The force of the fire was so strong that he got shot straight out a window. Everyone then watched as, with one more insane giggle, his body blew apart into data outside. It was too far away for either Impmon or Takato's D-Ark to load it, but in that instant, Takato realized one very important thing.

They had won.

"HELL YES!" Impmon screamed, pumping a fist into the air.

This point was made even more clear as the darkness around them began to dissolve. Up at the front of the room, the claws that held the girl named Yumi up began to break apart as well. Obviously realizing that she was about to fall right on her face, Hirokazu rushed up to the front and caught her as the claws vanished.

After setting her down, and as the lights began to flicker back on, Hirokazu sighed. "Guys... I think we need to go before everyone here wakes up."

"But what about that girl?" Juri questioned.

As if on cue, the four of them heard sirens outside. Smiling, Takato placed a hand on Juri's shoulder. "I think we already have help on the way. Hirokazu's right, though. Things would get very complicated if anyone saw Impmon..."

* * *

"Well, now," Kyuubimon said, sitting next to her Tamer on the school's rooftop, the Digital Field having been gone for a short time by that point. "That's quite unexpected."

"We know that Phantomon wasn't the Controller," replied Ruki, who was laid out staring up at the sky. "So that would mean..."

"...and here I thought he hadn't really learned anything," Kyuubimon said.

"I'm just _that_ good of a teacher."

"Mm-hm."

"...you doubt me?"

"Never."

Ruki sat up as he heard sirens around the school. "Well, Yamaki's sure punctual."

"Shall we go, then?"

The redhead got back to her feet and stretched a bit. "Might as well. Guess we weren't really needed here after all."

"For once."

"Heh. He probably just got lucky."

"Really?" Kyuubimon asked. "So what would that say about you as a teacher then?"

Ruki, realizing she had stuck her foot in her mouth, gave her partner a mock glare. "Oh, shut up. Lets just get going."

* * *

It was sort of a surreal thing. By the time everyone woke up, the authorities had already taken over the school grounds. Classes for the day were, unsurprisingly, cancelled, and no one knew why. No one except for Takato and his friends, of course.

Impmon wasted no time in getting away from everything as quickly as possible. Before Takato, Juri, and Hirokazu could even get back to their classroom, however, they were cut off by a couple police officers and a blond man that Takato recognized instantly.

As Juri and Hirokazu were led away from their friend and into the crowds of people filing out of the building, Yamaki pulled Takato into a now-empty classroom. "Who were those kids?" the man asked as he shut the door.

Takato felt himself tense a tad, praying that Yamaki didn't notice him do so. "Friends of mine," he replied quickly. "I found them after Impmon defeated the digimon."

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "So, it was you two that did it?" Takato nodded. The man seemed somewhat surprised, which was kind of annoying, but the Tamer said nothing about that. "Well done, then. I'll get a full report from you in the next day or so, then." He paused for a second, and then continued. "Did anyone see anything?"

"Not that I know of, sir," Takato said, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. "The Digital Field sort of knocked everyone out. It was really weird, to say the least..."

"I see," Yamaki said, and then turned back to the door. "Stay here for awhile. Wait until the crowds die down so we can sort things out. It'll be easier that way."

Then, he exited the room, saying nothing else. Sighing to himself, Takato pulled out a chair and sat down at a desk. He then buried his face in his hands. _This is just too much,_ Takato thought. _If Yamaki-san finds out that Hirokazu and Juri know about the digimon, what would happen?_

Of course, he wasn't too worried about that. After all, how could he possibly find out? It wasn't like they would spill that information with no reason. Plus, he should be happy; he and Impmon had won! That was more than enough reason to be glad, wasn't it?

_We saved these people by killing someone,_ he thought. _Even if it was a monster that did horrible things, I still helped kill a living, breathing thing._ He sat up straight and looked at his hands, only to find them shaking. _If I'm a Tamer, though, if I'm to protect people, I guess I don't have any choice..._

"It was as I told you, Matsuda-kun." Takato suddenly jolted up from his seat and found Alice leaning up against a wall in the room. She glanced at him, her expression, as usual, not showing much emotion. "Was it not?"

"Alice!" he exclaimed, grabbing his chest. "Where did you come from?"

The blonde looked out the window, eyeing the crowds of people pouring out of the school. "I said that it all depended on whether or not you truly wished to do it," she said, and then looked back at him, "and you succeeded."

He stared at her, unsure of what to say. She remained silent, and he felt as if her blue eyes were penetrating right through him, reading every movement as if she understood the meaning to each one. "Alice," he said slowly, "what are you, exactly?"

She gave no real reaction to that question, but pushed off the wall and walked towards him. "I am what you see," she said softly. "I am Alice McCoy. I am the Death Tamer. I am called as such because of my duty, and that duty is prevent that which I can also create."

"B-but," he stammered, suddenly feeling rather nervous as she neared him, "why aren't you with Hypnos? Why don't the others know about you?"

"I am not here for their benefit," Alice said as she reached him, staring straight into his eyes. "There are more forces at work than you realize. Just, please," she murmured, and Takato froze as her fingertips brushed against his face, "allow me to remain unknown to them for awhile longer."

"A-Alice," he muttered, and then gulped as she pressed her palm against his face before leaning against him. "Alice!" His arms sort of flailed about as that sense of confusion he found himself getting frequently went off the scale.

"You're very warm," she whispered, and he shivered at the feeling of her breath hitting his neck. Then, she quickly pulled away from him, looking as if she had done nothing, and walked around him. Feeling his legs give out, Takato slid back down into the chair, his face about as red as Impmon's scarf.

"That is all I ask of you," she said as she got to the door. "They will fully discover me eventually, but until that time comes, it will be much easier if you say nothing. For both of us…"

She then left, leaving the blushing, speechless Takato behind trying to figure out just what the hell he'd been thinking about before…

* * *

Minami frowned deeply, gently rocking back and forth on a swing. She was in a small park near her school, which had just been let out for the day. Glancing up in the sky, she could see the sun starting to go down behind the buildings of the city. "Forty minutes, huh?" she repeated to herself, kicking the dirt beneath her feet.

"I guess I am sort of late, huh?"

The brown-haired girl looked around and saw Ruki approaching her from behind. "Ruki!" she exclaimed, springing up from the swing seat as her face brightened. She ran over to the redheaded girl and grabbed one of her hands. "I was so worried. It's not like you to take so long."

Ruki rubbed her neck, cocking her head to one side. "Yeah, well, I sort of had some unexpected delays. How did the teachers take it?"

Minami released Ruki's hand glanced away, shuffling her feet. "Well, Sensei was pretty mad after awhile, and really got onto me, saying I was just covering for you when you were ditching school."

Ruki let a small sigh out, patting the other girl on the head. "Well, that _is_ sort of what you were doing. But hey, forget them. We know better, right?"

"I suppose," she muttered.

The redhead groaned, planting one hand on her hip while snapping her fingers with the other. "Alright, out with it. You're a terrible liar, so what is it?"

Minami finally brought herself to look at Ruki again, now frowning once more. "I was just really worried, like I said," she said. "You usually return so quickly that I was afraid something may have happened."

"Well, nothing did," Ruki said nonchalantly. "Haven't I told you not to worry about stupid things that you have no _reason_ to worry about?"

"It's not stupid!" Minami suddenly snapped, and then covered her mouth. "S-sorry. You just can't say that nothing will ever happen, or else it _will_ happen…"

"What I have to do can't be helped," Ruki said. "I think I've realized over the past couple of days that timing myself like that isn't really the wisest idea." She then reached out, wrapping her arms around Minami's waist. The brown-haired girl blushed, looking around the area to be sure that no one else was nearby.

"O-out here…?"

"You think I really care, Mina?" Ruki asked, moving her face closer to Minami's. "I do what I have to do because I have no choice. I do these things to protect those precious to me. My family, my partner, and…" She didn't finish, and instead gently pressed her lips against the other girl's. Minami's care about where they were quickly melted away, and she happily accepted the kiss. All she cared about then was _who_ she was with, rather than the place surrounding them…

* * *

_That was weird. Really, really weird._ These were the thoughts that went flying through Takato's head continuously as he waited for a majority of the people to vacate the school. Finally, Takato did the same, only noticing a few Hypnos agents or police officers here and there as he walked from the schoolyard. None of them paid him any mind, likely having some idea of just where his connections lied.

He just couldn't stop thinking about what Alice had done. Feeling her up against him… The brown-haired Tamer shook his head as he shivered again. Trying not to think about it at this point was downright impossible.

"Takato-kun!"

The teenager blinked in surprise as he Hirokazu and Juri suddenly came running up to greet him. "Geez, man, what took you so long?" the spiky-haired boy asked.

"I, uh, had to stay behind…" Takato said, trailing off. "Wait, what are you guys still doing here?"

Juri smiled brightly. "Don't be silly! We were waiting for you."

"You were waiting for me…?"

"Of course!" Hirokazu chuckled, slapping him on the back, and then pushing him along to start walking with them. "C'mon, after you just saved all our butts, the least we can do is see you home. Maybe even grab something to eat."

"Oh?" Juri glanced over at him. "So where are you taking us?"

Hirokazu laughed again, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, y'see, Katou, I was wondering if you could lend me a little bit…"

"Hmph." Juri crossed her arms, looking away.

"Aww, c'mon…"

She then smiled again and waved a finger in his direction. "Alright, but _you_ get the cheapest thing on the menu!"

As he listened to them, for once, despite all of the strange or scary things flying around in his life, Takato couldn't help but feel good. He smiled, understanding that he could trust these people, and understanding more then about his role in the world. Somehow, this all finally seemed _right_, and he actually liked it.

* * *

It could never be said that Yamaki Mitsuo was someone who did his job to just come in and out for the paycheck. It was deep into the night, well past when anyone but the nighttime skeleton crew was working inside Hypnos. Yet, Yamaki was still in his office, looking over page after page of reports on the latest Realization. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about it that he needed to figure out. Something that was very wrong…

The door to his office opened, and without even looking he knew who it was. "You can just go home now if you'd like, Reika."

The woman walked over to his desk, glancing down at the documents. "I could help you, you know. That way we could both get out of here quicker."

Yamaki just shook his head. "I just need to make certain of a couple things." He then stopped as he came across one particular sheet. Eyes narrowing beneath his sunglasses, he picked it up and handed it off to her. "If you want, though, I want you to check something out for me tomorrow."

Reika read it over briefly. "Hoshi Yumi," she muttered, and then looked back to her superior. "The girl that the digimon tortured? What about her?"

The blond man leaned back in his seat, tapping a finger on the lighter that sat on the desktop. "I didn't ask Takato about it yet, but there's something about that whole deal that disturbs me. For something this extensive to be done to this girl, it almost makes me feel like it was specifically targeted. As it is, it's far too much of a coincidence that this happened at Takato and Jenrya's school anyway. I want this investigated. This girl, her family, the people that she knows… There's something going on here. I want to know exactly what it is."

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** _shields himself as readers pelt him with sharp objects_  
Yeah, for that thing I know you're throwing stuff at me for? I know it's out of left field here. But it, much like many things, has an explanation. But it is something that's been in mind for quite awhile. And it's here, so… yeah. Think of it however you will, but all flames will be used for my next cookout. :D  
Oh, and for those that don't know, Evilmon is the Japanese name of the digimon called "Vilemon" in the dub.

* * *

"Everyone holds their secrets close to them, and some are more guarded than others. With their recent battles fresh on their minds, the Tamers struggle to discover just what is going on with their world, not to mention each other…"  
**Next:_Realization 11- "Investigation"_**


	12. Realization 11: Investigation

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is owned by Toei Animation and Bandai. Original characters and concepts are mine.

**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** (For those that actually find it important) Male/Female; Female/Female  
**Edited Notes:** Thanks to Dark Qiviut in a review for this chapter for pointing out an HTML error, which has thus been fixed. :)

* * *

She had been told to simply go home and deal with her assignment the next day. Most other workers within Hypnos would have happily followed those orders. Reika, however, knew Yamaki. She knew how he worked, and just how deeply his sense of dedication to that work went. If she had been anyone else, she would be working on that assignment the moment it was given to her. Thus, that was just what she was doing. Even if it was late into the night and she couldn't really get much of anything done, she was determined to at least do _something_ which resembled getting a start.

Hoshi Yumi. That was the girl the Wild One had attacked before Takato and Impmon destroyed it. With how far Hypnos' information network reached, it took only moments of sitting at the computer in her personal office to pull up files on her. For the most part, everything was decidedly... normal. She was a third year high school student, her parents were successful enough and made enough money to easily take care of this girl and her younger brother. There was definitely something amiss, though... Such as her having disappeared without a trace for a period of three months. Upon resurfacing, the girl underwent several more months of psychiatric help.

There was certainly something wrong with that. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on... but given that everything else checked out fairly normal, that was the only lead she had. She just hoped that it would go somewhere, and couldn't shake a feeling in the pit of her stomach that this wasn't going to be easy...

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
_Realization 11- "Investigation"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Looking around at the bustling hallways of the hospital, Takato was wondering if this was such a good idea. At his side were Juri and Hirokazu, with the girl carrying a small bouquet of flowers. It was a few days since the battle with Evilmon, and since the digimon attacked that girl. Juri had been insisting that they visit her, even though they didn't even know her. Also despite the fact that she still remained in a coma. 'It's the thought that counts' wound up being her main argument, and Takato eventually caved, though more for the sheer fact he couldn't say no to her than anything else. Hirokazu, he figured, was just tagging along for the hell of it.

Looking around at the various nurses and doctors that roamed about, Takato couldn't help but find it strange how clueless any of them that may have treated the girl would be. He and his friends were well aware of the source of her condition, as were Hypnos and the other Tamers. Yet these people would only know of it as some mysterious, unsolved attack. He imagined not even the girl's parents knew about what happened. The official explanation currently was that both the girl's attack and the mysterious blackout experienced by faculty and students was 'under investigation.' Takato imagined it would remain as such until it just vanished from people's memories by way of some other event. The fact that he was a party to that made him feel slightly unsettled.

Understanding all of that, he just didn't feel as if it was right for him to be there.

After finding out where this Yumi's girl's room was, and making sure she was allowed visitors, the trio went on their way to a higher floor. As they rode up in an elevator, just the three of them with no one else, Juri sighed.

"It's still so hard to believe," she said. "I saw it all with my own eyes, and yet..."

Takato couldn't really think of anything to say to that. It WAS pretty unbelievable. Even more so was the fact all of this Tamer stuff had only been apart of his life for just over a week...

"Hey, isn't this the hospital that Katoki's being kept in?" Hirokazu asked absently.

Juri nodded. "But why would you want to... wait, you're not thinking of harassing him, are you?"

"Nah," Hirokazu said, waving a hand. "I'm just wondering if that poor sap's still talking crazy."

"Well, it wasn't exactly crazy talk, you know," Juri said, frowning a bit. "What happened to him _was_ real..."

Takato got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. It always cropped up whenever Juri spoke about what Impmon did to Yosuke. Something about the way she talked about it just bothered him, somehow.

"Oh, here's our stop!" Juri suddenly exclaimed, her face brightening as the elevator doors slid open.

They continued onward, around the bend of a hallway and towards their destination. As they went around the hall's corner, however, Takato came to a sudden stop as he saw who was standing outside the room they were headed for. "Reika-san?"

The long-haired woman blinked, glancing down the hallway as she heard him. "Takato-kun?"

"You know her?" Juri asked as the older woman walked towards them.

"Oh, yeah-" Takato began, and then abruptly stopped. He looked helplessly at Reika, realizing the bind he was suddenly in. Hirokazu and Juri didn't know that this woman worked for Hypnos, and she didn't know they were aware of the exsistance of digimon. "Um, she, I..."

"My name's Ootori Reika. I'm a friend of Takato-kun's mother, Mie," Reika lied with a smile. "I work at the same office as Yumi-chan's father, so I figured it would be appropriate to pay my respects."

"I'm Katou Juri," Juri said, bowing. She then gave Hirokazu a light slap in the arm and he followed her lead.

"Oh, heh. Shiota Hirokazu."

Takato just stared at Reika. She was _really_ good at lying and sounding so sincere about it at the same time.

"So, what are you doing here, Takato-kun?" Reika asked, eyeing him.

Takato gulped and started to reply before Juri cut in. "We heard what happened to Hoshi-sempai," she said. "Even though we don't know her very well, we thought it'd be a good idea to do the same as you are, Ootori-san."

"I see," Reika said, and just as those words left her mouth, the door to Yumi's room flew open.

A boy, probably a year younger than Takato or his friends, stormed out, which was followed by a man yelling. "HIKARU! Get back here!"

The boy spun around, running a hand through his black hair. "Lay off, Dad! I don't care if that slut stays like that!"

An older man with graying hair came out with a furious look on his face. "Don't you dare talk about your older sister that way!"

"After all the shit she's done?" Hikaru spat. "She probably asked for it and just got more than she wanted!"

The elder man looked about ready to punch his son right in the mouth. His body was tense, and his hands were balled up into fists. "Just... get out of my face."

"Gladly!" Hikaru shot back, spun around, and began walking down the hallway. As he passed by Takato and company, he made sure to flip up his middle finger in his father's direction before disappearing around the hallway's corner.

Everyone else just gawked as the boy's father stormed back into the room, slamming the door behind him. They continued to stare for several moments until Reika adopted a sweet look as she turned to Juri. "Say, Juri-chan," Reika said. "Maybe I should deliver those flowers for you. Obviously, this may not exactly be the best time... I'll make sure to tell them where they came from."

Juri just nodded mutely, handing over the bouquet. Obviously, she was a tad shaken from that display. Hirokazu, on the other hand, just gave a half-hearted laugh and scratched his head. "Remind me never to complain about my family ever again."

Reika's gaze shifted to Takato. "Takato-kun, could I talk with you for a moment? Alone?"

"Eh, we'll meet you outside, buddy," Hirokazu said, giving Takato a slap on the shoulder as he turned around. "C'mon, Katou. No use in hanging around here any longer, right?"

"Y-yeah," Juri stammered. "I suppose..."

As the two other teenagers left them, Takato looked back to the older woman. "What's all this about?"

"I'm sure you know," Reika said, staring down at the flowers. "You _were_ the one who gave Yamaki-shitsuchou the report on the Wild One and what happened to this girl."

"Well, yeah," Takato said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, what are _you_ doing here?"

Reika sighed, glancing back at the door to Yumi's room. "I'm investigating that incident's relation to this girl. Yamaki-shitsuchou's suspicious, and the more I dig into it, I'm starting to understand why. Something about this whole mess is very wrong." She looked back at him. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Uh, sure," he said, blinking. "What is it?"

"I need to speak with this girl's parents," Reika said. "I don't know how they'll react to me, but it needs to be done. I want to know if you can tail this girl's younger brother, who you just saw make that little display."

"Tail him? I... don't really know how to do something like that."

Reika smiled again and pulled out a cell phone, which she placed in his hands. "Don't worry about it. Just see where he goes and what he does. If you need some help, contact Shuichon-chan, Jenrya-kun, or Ruki. Their numbers are in my cell. Can you do that for me?"

He looked down at the phone, and though it wasn't really something he _wanted_ to do, he nodded regardless. "Thank you," she said, patting him on the shoulder, which somehow caused him to blush a bit. "I really do think that this is something important..."

* * *

"Hirokazu-kun!" Juri said frantically. "Just what are you doing?"

Hirokazu pounded a fist into his palm, cracking his knuckles as they headed out of the hospital. "If there's one thing I learned from Katoki, it was how to kick someone's ass." His eyes were locked right on Hoshi Hikaru, who was slinking away down a sidewalk cursing to himself.

"Hirokazu-kun, no!" Juri said, grabbing the back of his jacket. "That's not going to solve anything. I know what we saw, but we don't know everything about this."

"I can't forgive someone who would talk about their sister like that," he said. "After seeing what we saw, knowing what that stupid digimon did..."

"Hey, I know what we can do!" she exclaimed, a smile popping up on her face. "We can go get some ice cream! You like ice cream, right?"

Hirokazu paused and glanced back at her. "Did you just ask me out?"

Juri's cheeks became red. "NO! I just don't see any point in fighting like this! You wouldn't be any better than Katoki or the Kobayashi brothers if you did something like that..."

Hirokazu's shoulders slumped as he came to a stop and sighed. He cursed mentally, glaring at Hikaru from behind. Much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. The _last_ thing he wanted to be then was anything like Katoki Yosuke.

He turned back around and grinned. "Okay, you win. Y'know, Takato and I were gonna head to the card shop after this. Wanna come with us?"

She blinked, releasing his jacket as it was now sort of twisted around him. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back. "Sure, I'd be glad-"

"Which way did he go?" a gasping voice panted from behind Juri, and both found it to be Takato. He looked as if he had just run straight out of the hospital.

"Who?" the other two teens chorused.

"Hoshi... Hikaru," Takato gasped, and then stood straight up.

Juri groaned, palming her face. "Not again..."

Takato took several deep breaths, and gave her a weird look. "What? ...listen, I didn't want to say this back there, but Reika-san is one of those people from that Hypnos organization I told you guys about. I just couldn't say anything with her standing right in front of me. Something's going on, and I need to follow him to see what he's doing."

Hirokazu's face brightened and he gave his friend a thumb's up. "Alright! We'll lead you straight after him."

"No," Takato said, shaking his head. "I can't let you guys follow along this time."

"We can't just let you go by yourself, Takato-kun," Juri said. "Why wouldn't you want us to...?"

Takato scratched his head, looking around the general area. He then whistled. "Hey, I know you're around here even though I told you to stay home again!"

Only moments later, Impmon's head popped out of some bushes along the sidewalk they were on. "Whaddaya want, kid? I'm stayin' hidden! You're just not helping matters!"

Takato smiled back to his friends. "I'll be alright, but if something happens I was told to contact the other Tamers. I don't think it'd be a good idea for you two to be there if I had to do that. Plus, it'd probably be easier to follow him with fewer people."

Juri frowned, while Hirokazu just snapped his fingers. "Just be careful," the brown-haired girl said.

"I will," Takato assured her, and then kneeled down where Impmon was. He slid his backpack off and unzipped it. "C'mon, Impmon."

Impmon waved a hand. "Oooh, no. Not again."

"...you know, I think Mom's supposed to be making something really good for dinner tonight..."

The small demon just stared. "...there ought to be laws against this."

* * *

Frowning a bit, Minami pulled a jacket around herself as she stepped out of her apartment building. Even then, she found herself shivering at the cool autumn air. Though it certainly wasn't as cold as it was when the freak snowstorm hit, the temperature was starting to drop again. She really wasn't used to these kinds of temperatures yet...

"Uehara Minami, right?"

Minami blinked, immediately stopping in her stride. She certainly hadn't been expecting anyone to greet her the moment she set foot outside. Yet, glancing down the sidewalk, she saw another teenager with blue hair who wasn't dressed anywhere near as warmly as she was. He also wore a backpack that she could have sworn just sort of... twitched on its own.

She recognized this young man, however. She didn't know him _well_, but she _did_ know him. Not that she had any idea why he would be there. "You're... Lee Jenrya-kun?"

"This is convenient," Jenrya said, smiling as he walked over. "I actually came around here looking for you."

_Why would he come searching for me?_ Minami wondered. She cycled through her memories, trying to figure out in that moment why he would do something like that. She knew, at least, that he was the same thing as Ruki. It'd been awhile since the last time she had seen him, though. Ever since she saw that flaming cat monster... Since that day when she had been fully exposed to all that was happening...

From what little she knew of him, she considered him trustworthy, but... this was just a little strange.

"I know this is a bit sudden," Jenrya said. "And probably a little odd. You were just the only person I could think of to come to."

Now Minami was really confused. What could she possibly do that would help him?

"It's about Ruki," he finally said.

She let her gaze linger on him silently for a second, and then quickly looked away, blushing a bit. "What about her...?"

Jenrya sighed, scratching his head. "How do I put this... I wanted to ask someone I know is close to her. But that would only leave three people that I know of... and out of them, you're the only one that I really _can_ ask."

"Well, she's a good friend..." she murmured, and then glanced up. The look on Jenrya's face immediately told her she couldn't treat him like he was clueless. "...um, well..."

"I know that you're an important person to her," Jenrya said. "Honestly, I normally wouldn't go behind someone's back like this, but..."

"...is there something wrong?" Minami asked, now starting to feel a tad worried. He didn't really strike her as the type of person to go out doing this if it wasn't important.

The smile fell from his face, and he stared up at the overcast sky. "Honestly, that's what I'm trying to understand," he then looked back at her, his smile returning. "Hopefully we can figure that out."

* * *

In another place, and another world...

Across the desolate wasteland, the two combatants stared at each other from a distance. One was a reptilian creature whose body was engulfed in flames. The other was a samurai-like warrior that wielded a large sword. Grunting, the latter, named Musyamon, lifted his blade high. His expression shifted to glaring at his opponent, and yet he smirked at the same time.

The former, DarkLizamon, gave a raspy sigh as he breathed heavily. "You realize it, don't you? How pointless this really is?"

Off in the distance, Musyamon could see it happening already. He saw a piece of the world - a small mountain - just outright disappear in the blink of an eye, its data scattering to the wind.

"This level of the Digital World has been little more than _his_ dumping ground for months," DarkLizamon snarled. "All that's left now is for the trash to be destroyed..."

"Then talking about it doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" Musyamon said before chuckling. "Didn't stop you from attacking me first..."

DarkLizamon's eyes narrowed behind the mask covering his face. "That is our way, after all... until our lives come to their eventual end... Better to go out like this than wait for him to delete us all."

With those last words, DarkLizamon rushed at Musyamon, who stood ready for the coming assault. As the fiery digimon neared his foe, his raised his claws to strike...

Then, a bright light washed over the both of them, and they were gone.

* * *

Megumi rolled her eyes as the alarm went off within the main Hypnos chamber. Months ago, any such warning would send everyone on staff into a frenzy. After the past couple of weeks, it was becoming so commonplace that all the procedures were just starting to seem strangely mundane. Taking a brief glance at her monitoring screen as she hopped around several stray cables lying on the ground, Megumi's indifference was lifted a slight bit. Not much, but it was something. _At least it detected something _before_ it actually Realized this time,_ she thought. When she took her seat, she was unsurprised to find Yamaki there a second later.

"Well, lets see what's on the agenda for today," Megumi murmured, tapping commands into the control panel. Moments later, her eyes widened before she slumped over, sighing. "Just when I thought these things couldn't surprise us."

"Two Wild Ones," Yamaki said calmly, reading off the screen. Hands held behind his back, he then turned back and began walking. "Monitor them. When you can detect where they will Realize, contact the Tamers and get me."

"Alright," Megumi said, frowning up at the monitor. "Um, Yamaki-shitsuchou?"

He paused briefly. "What?"

"Isn't there anything else we can do, sir?" she asked, a hint of caution in her voice. She didn't say everything she wanted, though, due to who she was speaking to. Why did they have to always rely just on these young people? Wasn't there any other method they could take to prevent putting them in harm's way?

Yamaki glanced back, his expression hidden by his sunglasses. "Don't assume everything will always stay as it is, Megumi."

He then strode off, leaving her with just her thoughts and her job.

* * *

Takato grit his teeth as he moved along the sidewalk. He knew very well that Impmon didn't like having to ride around in his backpack, but Takato didn't like it any better. Mainly because Impmon was a _lot_ heavier than he looked, and an extended period of carrying the digimon around was probably the last thing the teenager's back needed. On top of that, Impmon kept making noise, which continually attracted weird looks from strangers. Plus, it made it so he had to stay a considerable distance from Hoshi Hikaru.

He didn't particularly like having to sneak after someone. It made him feel strange. Particularly when he knew this boy didn't have anything to do with what happened to his sister. He'd _seen_ what happened to that girl. Reika knew about that, as well. So how could this guy possibly be connected to that?

Still, all of that didn't change the fact that he agreed to do this. Although he was starting to regret leaving Hirokazu and Juri behind, as the more he thought about it, he didn't see _why_ he would have to call any of the other Tamers. He just couldn't put all of the pieces together.

As he saw Hikaru round a corner, a muffled scream suddenly erupted from the backpack. Seconds later, Impmon's head burst out of it, only to have Takato hastily shove it back inside. "You had a pen in here!"

"Impmon, SHH!"

"IT POKED ME IN THE ASS!"

"I'M SORRY!" Takato screamed, now holding the backpack in his hands with his face in the opening.

"Whatever," Impmon huffed. "I ain't doin' this again! No way, no how."

Takato just gave an exasperated breath and looked around him to find a single man on the mostly deserted street staring at him. Just laughing nervously, Takato hurriedly continued on his way around the corner... only to be met with Hikaru face-to-face.

"Just _why_ are you following me?" Hikaru asked bluntly, his arms crossed as he tapped his foot.

Takato gulped hard, hoping for Impmon to stay quiet now. "F-following you? Why would you think that?"

Unlike Reika, of course, Takato was a horrible liar.

Hikaru glared at the older boy, clenching a fist. "You were outside my sister's room before. Why the hell are you following me?"

It seemed clear that the hostility shown back at the hospital wasn't just a one-time thing for this young man. "L-listen, I just..."

Hikaru grunted, spun around, and began to walk off. "Whatever. I don't care. Just leave me alone, alright?"

Takato sighed, rubbing the side of his head. He had to figure out something to say... there was just something not _right_ about the whole ordeal. "...you're wrong about your sister, you know."

_That_ made Hikaru stop. "Excuse me?" he asked, looking back at Takato before he gave a quick laugh. "Give me a break. If you know Yumi, then I'm sorry that you've had to put up with her."

"I... don't exactly _know_ her..."

"Then what are you doing following me around like some sort of lemming?" Hikaru growled.

"You don't know what really happened!" Takato suddenly blurted out, and after a second of considering what he said, regretted it.

Hikaru stared at him, a bit of surprise on his face, before he gave Takato a dark look and began walking towards him. "And you do?"

"Well, th-that's complicated," Takato stammered.

"What did you do to my sister?" Hikaru asked, his voice... freakishly calm.

Takato felt like pounding his face in with a hammer, suddenly realizing how what he said must've come across. "I... I..."

Hikaru then grinned, causing a disturbed shiver to run down Takato's spine. "I just want to know so I can thank you. You have no idea what all that bitch has done to me... not to mention others... There's so much I've wanted to do back, but I've never had the power or opportunity... So c'mon, tell me..."

This wasn't quite what Takato had expected. As Hikaru approached, Takato found himself walking backwards, and wishing the small street wasn't quite as deserted as it was. The look on the younger boy's face seemed to almost delight in the thought of something horrible happening to his sister, and that alone made Takato want to go running. What would bring someone to think anything like that of their family? It was made worse by the fact that he seemed to have himself utterly convinced that Takato had something to do with the attack on her.

"Please," he said, his voice having both a laugh in it, and a pleading tone. "I've got to know. I've got to know how she was hurt, what made her scream in pain..."

"I didn't do any-"

"TELL ME!" Hikaru screamed, suddenly lunging for Takato. He grabbed the older teenager by his jacket, shaking him violently. "TELL ME NOW!"

Takato wanted to just knock him away and run, but somehow found himself very frightened. Not even Yosuke outright _scared_ him, but something about the deranged look in this boy's eyes...

Takato could also feel Impmon squirming around in his backpack. If he didn't do _something_, Impmon was liable to, and that was probably the last thing he needed.

'At least the hospital's close,' was the first thing that sprang to mind when he considered the possibilities of that. Then he mentally kicked himself before physically kicking Hikaru in the shin. The boy gave a howl of pain before releasing Takato. Without skipping a beat though, the black-haired boy punched at Takato. Having spent so much time trying not to get killed by Yosuke and the Kobayashi brothers, Takato had learned how to duck a punch, so he did so. He then quickly began to stumble back until he ran into a light pole.

He was sure Impmon wouldn't appreciate that... in fact, Impmon didn't have any reaction to it. For that matter, the small demon had stopped squirming several moments before, and seemed almost... tense.

It was then that Takato realized why. The air around them quickly became hot, just like when that Allomon appeared. And behind Hikaru, in the middle of the street, there was a small cloud of fog... which quickly began to grow larger and take shape.

Any chance of not blowing their cover then was gone. Takato understood that, and apparently, so did Impmon, as he burst out of the backpack and landed on the street. Either that or he just didn't care, which Takato figured was far more likely.

Hikaru completely froze as he saw Impmon. His eyes went wide, and he began to back away from the digimon. The look in those eyes was most definitely one of fear, punctuated by tears welling up in them. Even with something as strange as Impmon, the reaction seemed rather... extreme.

"Y-you're... that's..." he stammered, and then went silent as the fog patch formed into another digimon. It was larger than the average human, a reptile of some sort, with its entire body, beyond its mask-covered faze, ablaze with black flames.

Takato tried his best to ignore Hikaru, pulling out his D-Ark and triggering its analyzer. "DarkLizamon, Adult-level digimon, Attacks are-"

He was interrupted as the younger boy screamed, tears now freely flowing down his cheeks. "NO!" he cried, shaking his head wildly. "It's all here again... you... you're all just..."

Takato just stared at him. Not even HE freaked out that much when confronted with digimon for the first time... ...mentally, Takato paused. Did Hikaru just say 'again?'

Finally, Hikaru just gave one more scream and ran off like a bat out of hell. Takato quickly understood that _may_ have been for the best, as a roar brought his attention back to DarkLizamon. "Okay, kid!" Impmon shouted back to his Tamer. "Lets see if what you did last time was just a fluke or not!"

Takato frowned at his partner. Truly, his confidence was overwhelming...

* * *

"It's not that I want to worry you, or anything," Jenrya said as he and Minami strolled down the side of a street. "It's just that... well, I'd be lying to you if I said Ruki and I are close. Lately, however... there's just something about the way she's acting. As if she's hiding something, and I'm worried that her doing this may hurt _her_ more than anyone else."

"Ruki is someone difficult to get close to," Minami said softly, seeming to pay more attention to her feet as they moved along the ground than what was ahead of her. "She doesn't like to let many people in..."

"But you're different."

Minami's cheeks flushed again. "I... I suppose..."

"Really, all I wanted to know is if Ruki has said or done anything recently that seems odd," Jenrya said, and the smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't want to sound like I'm prying, though. You just have to understand that what we deal with constantly is dangerous."

Minami's head jerked up and she stopped walking. Jenrya did the same, and she turned to look at him, an expression of worry now etched on her face. "Do you think that what you're talking about really would put her at more risk? That she could be hurt from it...?"

Jenrya sighed. "Like I said, I didn't come to worry you, though I guess that's unavoidable... and I know Ruki would tell me this is none of my business. In fact, if she knew I came to _you_, what she would tell me would probably be a whole lot worse."

Minami smiled a bit at that. "Yeah, probably."

"But the fact remains," Jenrya continued, "that Ruki and I are both Tamers. Whether she likes it or not, we're both working towards the same goal. So even if she won't allow us to be her friends, we're still comrades. So, I'm sort of worried, and I just want to know. If there's nothing you can tell me, then I'm sorry for bothering you with this..."

Minami opened her mouth to speak, and then stopped. She was paused like that for a moment before she bowed her head again, a look on her face that seemed like she _wanted_ to say something. "S-sorry, Lee-kun. I can't really think of anything..."

The blue-haired teen frowned. She was lying. He could tell that much. And he could imagine why, as well. After all, why should she betray Ruki's trust to someone that almost amounts to a perfect stranger?

Jenrya bowed to her. "Sorry for troubling you, Uehara-san."

He then began to turn away before she quickly grabbed his coat-sleeve. "Wait!" she said, and it almost struck him as if she was second-guessing herself by the second. "I know Ruki's a stubborn person, but please don't think badly of her because of how she acts."

Jenrya blinked, and then smiled. "Heh. I think maybe I can see why you're the important person that you are to her..."

Terriermon then chose that moment to pop right out of Jenrya's backpack, his ears tense and standing on end. Minami yelped, but that seemed to be more out of surprise than anything else. "Jen, there's something-!"

He didn't have to say anything else. Up ahead was a construction yard, where a building was just starting to be built. The area around it suddenly blackened, and in that one, isolated area, it began to rain quite heavily. Minami just stared in mild shock at the freak weather, while Jenrya only frowned.

For a Digital Field like that to just appear right in _front_ of them so randomly was very strange. There wasn't time to ponder on it, however.

"Uehara-san," Jenrya said, glancing back to her. "Sorry about this, but we've got to go take care of this." He then smiled once more. "And sorry again if I've worried you. Take care, all right?"

Leaving it at that, he turned to run straight for the construction yard. He was quite thankful for the fact that no one was presently working on the site, and then quite annoyed when he realized how cold that rain was going to be.

And it was, indeed, very cold. He quickly ran under the cover of apart of the partially constructed building, and then glanced around. "Terriermon, can you tell where-"

"DOWN!" Terriermon suddenly screamed, and Jenrya did just that, dropping to the ground. It was a very good thing he did so, too, as something had quickly come from around the halfway-built wall he was next to. That 'something' swung a very large sword, which embedded itself in the wall where Jenrya had been standing.

Jenrya gulped and looked up, finding a Musyamon standing over them. The digimon grinned, yanked his sword out of the wall, and raised it into the air. "Heh. Guess today's my lucky day..."

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Note:** Not much to note here, but here goes...  
- The title for the series you're currently reading will soon be changed to "Inner Demons Part 01- Rising Shadow" to reflect the fact that this is going to take multiple series to tell this whole story. It'll be sometime in the next couple of chapters, so keep an eye out for it. :)

- ALSO be on the look out in the near future for the first spin-off of ID, "Inner Demons: Gaiden" a series that will collect multiple side-stories that I've developed for the ID universe that don't fit into the main storyline, but expand on several elements of the world and its characters.

- I should do this more often, but thanks to all of my readers and reviewers. Realization 10 got the biggest reaction, review-wise, that ID's gotten since the first couple of chapters. So thanks for letting me know that there ARE people out there reading this thing. :)

* * *

_"In the midst of trying to gather information, two battles erupt on opposite ends of Shinjuku. As Takato, Jenrya, and their partners are faced with these enemies, one Tamer will have their motivations brought into question..."  
**Next: Realization 12- "Flame/Sword"**_


	13. Realization 12: Flame:Sword

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** (For those that actually find it important) Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

Wild Ones were beginning to become so erratic that Megumi was starting to get a very consistent series of migraines. Though their appearances were fast coming to be common occurrences, it didn't make things any easier to deal with.

In this case, she was told to inform both the Tamers and Yamaki the moment she locked down where the digimon would be Realizing. Unfortunately, by the time she was able to do that, they had _already_ materialized into the Real World. A moment ago, she had seen Yamaki standing in the doorway to the chamber. Even in the shadows and with those glasses he wore, the look she received wasn't exaclty... comforting.

He then just headed out. She had no idea where he was going, but right then, she didn't want to have to face him.

Though, as she read over the readings she was receiving, Megumi couldn't help but notice one very odd thing. In the end, the need to notify the Tamers of where these digimon would appear was a moot point. This was because both digimon had Realized separately, but each one was near one of the Tamers' digimon, and surely those Tamers themselves.

It was all very... weird, but Megumi couldn't claim that any of it made sense. The very effort of _trying_ to do that was only making her migraine worse...

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Phase-One: Rising Shadow  
Realization 12- _"Flame/Sword"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Lee Jenrya seemed to have a very bad habit of putting himself in harm's way. It wasn't as if he tried, it was just something that seemed to continually occur. Such as the position he just happened to be in right then, having a sword wielding warrior digimon about to cleave him in half. More likely than not, this Musyamon was aiming for Terriermon, whose head was sticking out of Jenyra's backpack. The fact still remained, of course, that he would need to cut the human in half to get to him. Whatever the reason, he was staring a very quick, painful death right in the eye.

Without hesitation, Terriermon sprung out from the backpack, twirling around in the air. "PETIT TWISTER!"

Jenrya had never really been close to Terriermon performing that attack before. But as the small digimon created a miniature tornado and slammed into Musyamon's chest, the gusts created were enough to knock Jenrya a few feet away and onto his back. Realizing that wasn't even a quarter of what an enemy on the receiving end would feel, he suddenly had a very clear understanding of just how potent that attack was.

In fact, as Jenrya looked up to see Musyamon being knocked back, he was fairly surprised that the digimon's feet never left the ground. He slid back, out from beneath the construction site's shelter and into the rain, before finally slamming his sword into the ground to stop himself.

Terriermon landed back on the ground and took a quick look back to his Tamer. "Jen!"

Grunting, Jenrya nodded as he picked himself back up and thrust out one hand. "DRAW FIELD!"

As the energy bubble expanded around his immediate area, shielding Jenrya from any further attack, Terriermon grinned. The little digimon's focus was now centered right on Musyamon. "I don't think this punk knows what he's gotten himself into!" Terriermon said.

Jenrya frowned, not really liking how his partner put that. He knew that, as a digimon, it was Terriermon's instinct to automatically fight. If possible, however, the last thing Jenrya wanted to do was encourage a pointless battle. Not unless there was no other choice...

"Terriermon, hold up," Jenrya said, eyeing Musyamon, who had yet to move from where he was. Terriermon frowned a bit, but did as he was told for the moment.

To that, Musyamon laughed, which brought a look of immediate anger to Terriermon's face. "What's so funny?"

"Tell me," Musyamon said, pulling his sword from the ground. It was then Jenrya realized he had stuck that blade straight through solid concrete. That right there was something that made him feel uneasy. "Do you enjoy being this human's pet?"

"Shut your trap!" Terriermon snapped. "Or else I'll shut it for you!"

"Terriermon, calm down!" Jenrya said, and Musyamon laughed even more.

"Yeah, that's it," Musyamon said, "all that's missing is a collar, you mangy little mutt!"

That was more Terriermon could take, and despite Jenrya's wishes, he lunged right at Musyamon. The warrior digimon smirked and quickly backhanded the small digimon as he neared, sending Terriermon straight into a steel girder. As his partner digimon slumped down to the rain-soaked ground, Jenrya gave a scream and grabbed the back of his head when Terriermon's pain was reflected back to him.

"I don't think I could be luckier," Musyamon said, swinging his sword around as he walked over to Terriermon. "A moment ago, my world was about to end, and I wasn't even gonna get to finish my last fight... Now, it's all changed, and now _I'm_ the one with the upper hand!"

"Stop this!" Jenrya called out across the distance between Musyamon and himself. "This is stupid! There's no reason for us to fight!"

Musyamon didn't even spare a glance at the human. Instead, he focused at Terriermon lying at his feet. The dog digimon tried to get up, but slipped on the wet surface and fell back down. "I'm a digimon," Musyamon said simply. "That's reason enough!"

Growling, Jenrya pulled out his D-Ark and began to summon a Psi Card into his free hand. Whatever his opinions may have been, what was important right then was protecting his partner. "Psi Card Slash! SPEED BOOSTER!"

Musyamon brought his sword down, but as Terriermon vanished from his sight, the blade just struck the hard ground. Musyamon whirled around, finding Terriermon back under the cover of the half-built building. "BLAZING FIRE!"

A fireball soared out of Terriermon's mouth, and Musyamon quickly leapt further back into the Digital Field's heavy, cold rain. As the fireball flew out into the cascading water, it had the distinct effect of shrinking down until it was merely a speck, barely leaving a mark on Musyamon's armor.

Unthinking, not waiting for Jenrya to say anything, Terriermon dashed at Musyamon, moving so fast that he again blinked out of sight. Musyamon just grunted and thrust out one hand. Jenrya gave a yell and grabbed the side of his head, watching as Musyamon had somehow been able to grab Terriermon by one ear before the smaller digimon even reached him.

"TERRIERMON!" Jenrya screamed, seeing his friend now at Musyamon's mercy.

Water drenched both digimon, but Musyamon seemed as if he didn't care. He lifted Terriermon up, holding him so that they were face-to-face. "Just a little pet pup."

Terriermon glared at him. "I'm not anyone's pet... Jen's my friend!"

"Right, of course!" Musyamon said sarcastically, shaking Terriermon by his ear. "You're just another piece of trash that _he_ rejected from that world, just like me..."

"SHUT UP!" Terriermon screamed. "BLAZING FIRE!" Now at point-blank range, Terriermon's fireball slammed right into Musyamon's face. The warrior released his captive and finally fell onto his back, grabbing his face and screaming in pain.

Terriermon landed, but didn't move. Groaning, Musyamon sat up a bit, still holding his face. "You little puss," the Adult-level digimon said. "I was at your mercy just then..."

"I said we don't have to fight!" Jenrya shouted.

"Who asked you, human?" Musyamon spat, and then blinked, looking at Terriermon. He gave a chuckle, and pushing himself up with his sword, grinned again. "Oh, I see how it is. You're just following your master's whims, not fighting, denying your very nature..."

"How many times do I have to tell you to SHUT. UP?" Terriermon snarled.

Musyamon pointed his sword at Jenrya. "This is just pathetic!" the adult-level shouted. "Why the hell would a Tamer exist who doesn't want his damn digimon to fight?"

"Don't talk like you know us," Jenrya said, glaring at the Wild One.

"I _will_ fight!" Terriermon said. "Only... if I have no choice..."

There was a slight bit of hesitation in the small digimon's voice, and Musyamon's smile widened. "That's just too easy, then..."

He then suddenly leapt back, towards the entrance of the construction site. At first, Jenrya couldn't possibly understand what he was trying to do... and then he saw it. Standing there, watching the whole situation, was Minami. _What is she doing, I told her to-!_ He didn't have the time to finish his thought, as Musyamon landed right next to the girl. "HERE'S YOUR MOTIVATION!" the humanoid digimon snarled, raising his sword up high. The girl could only stand there, wide-eyed, obviously frozen with shock and fear.

"TERRIER-!" Jenrya began, but didn't _really_ even have to say anything. Terriermon, with a bit of the Speed Booster still in effect, quickly appeared in front of Musyamon, only to be batted away with the flat side of his sword. Jenrya grunted, trying to brush aside the pain as Terriermon skidded along the ground, focusing on the danger that girl was now in.

Musyamon grabbed her by the back of her jacket, causing her to break out of her stupor and scream. Obviously not caring about the distress he was causing her, he leapt further into the rain-soaked construction yard, and then turned to face Jenrya. He held Minami up, holding his blade so that it pointed at her neck. "So," Musyamon said, "this a good enough reason for you?"

* * *

Facing down a rather angry looking Wild One certainly wasn't the position that Takato wanted to be in. Given the fact that Hoshi Hikaru had chosen to vacate the area so fast made matters even worse. It was bad enough he was just supposed to be _following_ him, and yet had his cover blown. On top of that, he was now distinctively aware of digimon... another thing Takato knew wasn't supposed to happen.

Of course, there were also all of those things Hikaru said...

Staring at a giant, flame covered lizard, however, made all of those ponderings leave his mind for the moment. Already having activated his Draw Field as a precaution, Takato gulped rather hard. Though DarkLizamon had yet to make any moves on them, if they were forced to fight him, Takato could tell it wouldn't be like Evilmon. This thing was definitely bigger and likely stronger than Impmon, and he couldn't say he yet had the greatest confidence in his digimon partner's strength.

On top of that, Takato knew he had very few Psi Cards at his disposal. So there was only so much he could do to help Impmon... and he wasn't stupid enough to think that an increased flame attack would help him against something like this.

"Human," DarkLizamon rumbled, finally speaking as his eyes glanced around, taking in his surroundings. They then narrowed, focusing on the D-Ark in Takato's hands. "A Tamer."

"Y-you know?" Takato said, stumbling over his words in a false attempt to stay calm.

"All digimon know of the Legendary Tamers," DarkLizamon said, and began to move towards them slowly. Impmon tensed, and a nervous look washed right over the small demon's face. "Of which you, certainly, are not. A moment ago, however, I was about to die... yet here I stand now, before you. I have no real choice, then, to take it as a sign..."

Takato just forced a nervous smile, unable to spit out any response. He wanted to say something like, 'a sign you don't want to fight us?' but it didn't come. Instead, he was met with the sight of DarkLizamon suddenly dashing right at Impmon, who was standing just outside the Draw Field.

So, that made Takato's first order of business clear: Making sure they didn't die.

Concentrating and summoning a Psi Card, he slid it along his D-Ark. "Psi Card Slash! SPEED BOOSTER!"

Impmon's dodge, which he was already performing, became extremely exaggerated by the effect of the card, causing him to appear a considerable distance down the street. DarkLizamon, on the other hand, obviously not expecting this, wound up colliding head first into the Draw Field. A surge of energy shot through his body, making the Adult-level scream and recoil back. He gave Takato a dangerous glare, but then turned his attentions right back to Impmon.

Grinning, Impmon then did something Takato recognized as utter stupidity. He ran right for DarkLizamon. With the Speed Booster active, Takato thus had no chance to warn his partner _against_ said stupidity. Dashing towards his enemy at a rapid pace, Impmon tried to leap up and punch the masked digimon's face... only to be met with his body as DarkLizamon swiftly spun around. Impmon screamed as he was knocked back by the force of DarkLizamon's body and flames, slamming into the street.

Takato, likewise, gave a howl of pain, dropping to one knee as the horrible feeling of being burned spread across his body. "Dammit," he cursed, glaring at BOTH digimon. He then blinked as he heard something clatter on the ground before him, and noticed a cell phone lying at his feet.

_"If you need some help, contact Shuichon-chan, Jenrya-kun, or Ruki. Their numbers are in my cell."_

"Of course!" Takato exclaimed, scooping up the phone as he smacked his forehead. He then looked up, seeing Impmon get to his feet as DarkLizamon lumbered towards them. "Impmon, keep him busy!"

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" Impmon cried.

Like he had noted to himself before, Takato didn't have very many Psi Cards in his arsenal. He only had the basic elements that Impmon represented - Level-One Flame, Ice, and Darkness - and basic attack boosters - Speed, Strength, Attack, and Aura. Plus some card labeled 'Bakemon,' but he didn't see how that would help him here. That didn't leave him with many options... but he couldn't just ignore the fight while he called up the other Tamers either.

Summoning another card, this one with a blue tint to it, Takato grit his teeth. "Okay, lets hope this works like I think it will," he muttered. "Psi Card Slash! ICE FUSION LEVEL-ONE!"

Impmon smirked at the oncoming DarkLizamon. "Now _that's_ more like it!"

Another card came to Takato, and he slid it as well. "Psi Card Slash! ATTACK BOOSTER!"

As the extra power surged through Impmon, the little demon laughed. "SUMMON!" he shouted, and as the black, empty hole appeared in the ground at his feet, a cold mist started to float up from it. "**BLIZZARD!**"

Snarling, DarkLizamon gave his own shout at the same time. "DREAD FLAME!"

As dark fire spewed from his maw, a twister of snow and ice surged out Impmon's portal. The two met, clashing for a moment before they effectively canceled one another out. Which... basically left them in the same position as before. And with only five Psi Cards left, one of which completely useless, that didn't leave things very well in their favor.

"Impmon," Takato said nervously. "Uh. T-try and stay alive..."

Impmon's green eyes widened at that comment, and then even more as DarkLizamon dashed for him again. His Speed Booster having worn out by then, Impmon barely dodged a swipe of the beast's claw. Sighing, and praying silently for their survival, Takato proceeded to make his phone calls...

* * *

Jenrya could hear his cell phone ringing, but he ignored it. If it was important, they would call back.

_This is my fault,_ he thought, staring at Minami trapped in Musyamon's grip. A look of complete, utter fear was on her face, but was otherwise still. Considering the digimon had a sword to her throat, he couldn't blame her. _It was because I was prying that she was anywhere nearby..._

Musyamon didn't realize just how he was pushing Jenrya, however. The demon man didn't know him. Just because he didn't _want_ to engage in some pointless fight didn't mean that he _wouldn't_ fight at all.

"Put her down," Jenrya demanded. "NOW!"

"Oh? So, you plan on making me, then?" Musyamon asked. "Heh, maybe I want to see what happens when a human dies..."

Jenrya didn't think it was possible, but Minami looked even more frightened with those words. "Put her down and you'll have your fight!" Jenrya shouted, and then outstretched his hand. In a flash, his Draw Field collapsed and the young man began to walk out into the rain soaked area to join Terriermon. "And if you want to hurt a human, just try and get to me!"

In one quick movement, Musyamon unceremoniously tossed Minami away from him. She girl hit the wet ground and tumbled a bit, but otherwise seemed okay. Certainly, she was in far less danger than she would be in his hands.

"Hah!" Musyamon laughed as he leveled his sword in Jenrya and Terriermon's direction. "Can't say I don't mind a challenge, but you don't know what you're dealing with, kid!"

A green energy orb appeared in the palm of the teenager's hand. "Neither do you," he said, raising it up and staring calmly at his opponent. "PSI-LINK!" He slammed the orb into his D-Ark, light erupting from both it and Terriermon. "EVOLUTION!"

"Terriermon, EVOLVE!" Musyamon looked unimpressed as Terriermon's form changed. "GALGOMON!"

Seeing Galgomon, and the fact that they were on equal terms in height, Musyamon nonetheless just scoffed. "Still just a pup. Now you're just a bigger one."

Galgomon growled angrily. "Yeah, we'll see about _that_, ugly!"

* * *

Being carried across the rooftops of Shinjuku at an excessive rate of speed should have been something that would make many people sick. Yet, as Renamon carried Ruki, the girl barely recognized how fast they were really moving. This was thanks largely in part to Renamon's ability to make every one of her movements so graceful that everything just seemed to move naturally, even when it wasn't.

In addition to that, Ruki's intense concentration managed to block most other things out. Right then, she could sense two flickers of power on either end of Shinjuku. Takato and Jenrya, each with their partners. While one was waning, the other was actually _growing_ in strength.

It was strange, though. Two Wild Ones, appearing at the exact same time in separate areas... Ruki would have made note of the strangeness, but unprecedented actions by Wild Ones were becoming oddly normal. However, for them to appear right near two Tamers seemed to be too much of a coincidence. _Far_ too much of one...

"So which way do we go, Ruki?" Renamon asked.

It took a moment to register, but Ruki realized they had stopped moving. Renamon was standing on the edge of a roof's railing, and Ruki knew they were about at the midpoint between the two battles.

Ruki just shook her head. "Do you even need to ask, Renamon? Looks like we'll have to bail them out. Again."

Renamon glanced at her. "You want to know what's going on with that growing power, too, don't you?"

"Of course," the girl replied. "But if we interfere there, it may not develop right. So, basically... it's better for us to make sure the rookie doesn't get run over."

* * *

Takato screamed, clutching his side as Impmon got batted straight into the side of a building. As the small demon slumped to the ground, and Takato barely stayed on his feet, the Tamer realized the hand he was holding Reika's phone in was empty. Looking down he found it lying on the street... in pieces. _I dropped it without realizing it,_ he thought. _Before I could get to Ruki... and Jen wouldn't answer... but hopefully-_ "ARGH!"

He was cut off, sharply, as Impmon got tossed across the street again. This time, Takato couldn't keep himself up, and fell right onto his back. It was just too much... they didn't have the kind of strength needed to take something like this on.

Impmon grunted as he pulled himself back to his feet. He wobbled a bit, but even still, held his fists up ready to take on the next blow. "C'mon, flame-butt," the smaller digimon spat. "I didn't even _feel_ that one!"

He was, of course, lying through his teeth. The digimon could obviously barely stand up, and his fur was littered with burn marks and multiple cuts from DarkLizamon's claws. Takato felt each and every one of them, and knew he too was probably bleeding from several small wounds.

"Admirable," DarkLizamon said, flexing his claws as he walked over. "Even in the face of certain death, you're that boastful. I do appreciate that, at the very least..."

Takato sat up on his knees, thinking hard. He mentally took inventory of which cards he had available and sighed. All that was left now was to take a chance... he just had to hope that help would be on its way somehow.

"Alright, Impmon," Takato muttered in a low voice, summoning one card, followed by another. "Lets pray on these two... Psi Card Slash! STRENGTH BOOSTER! DARKNESS FUSION LEVEL-ONE!"

Impmon grinned half-heartedly as the first card took effect, sending energy through his body. With the second, however, his face brightened a great deal. Black energy suddenly burst from his entire body, sending out a small surge that actually cracked the road beneath his feet. "Oh, HELL YES!" Impmon shouted, and DarkLizamon actually froze, eyes widened.

"That kind of energy," DarkLizamon gasped, "in a Child-level-"

He didn't get to finish. Leaping from the ground with a renewed sense of power, Impmon slammed a fist into DarkLizamon's mask. Takato then watched, almost not believing his own eyes, as the punch sent the much larger digimon flying across the street and into the sidewalk. The impact of his weight shook the ground around them and shattered the concrete he landed on.

Impmon cackled, the dark power still surging off of him wildly. "Oh yeah... THIS BITCH IS MINE!" he cried, rushing towards his downed foe.

"Not... hardly," DarkLizamon muttered as he raised up. He then opened his mouth and unleashed another burst of fire. "DREAD FLAME!"

"Psi Card Slash! ICE FUSION LEVEL-ONE!" another voice, a female one, shouted.

Impmon skidded to a halt, then, as Lopmon dropped down in-between him and the Dread Flame attack. "BLAZING BLIZZARD!" the even smaller digimon cried, unleashing an upgraded form of his Blazing Ice attack. Which, Takato noted, made Impmon's earlier, similar attempt look kind of weak.

The two attacks collided, and unlike Impmon before, Lopmon managed overcome the Dread Flame. As Lopmon's attack then hit the Adult-level digimon, the entire beast became encased in ice.

Takato stared in shock at the brown and pink digimon. Had DarkLizamon's attack just been weakened from Impmon's blow? Or was Lopmon somehow really _that_ much more powerful?

"Hiiiii, Takato-san!" The young man blinked and looked across the street, finding Shuichon waving to him, already within her own Draw Field. She was the _one_ person who actually answered one of his phone calls. He had been wondering how long it would take her to get there...

"Shuichon-chan!" he exclaimed, and then gave a sigh of relief. Finally, they were safe...

Black flames erupted from the ice surrounding DarkLizamon, blowing it into tiny shards that scattered all across the area. DarkLizamon emerged, snarling, and looking quite angry.

"Hah!" Impmon laughed, balling up one fist. "You still want some more, huh!"

Lopmon looked back at him. "You can't even sense his strength, can you?"

Impmon blinked, and then growled. "What's that supposed to mean? And what should it matter? I just nailed his ass! I can do it again!"

Lopmon gave an exasperated sigh. "First of all, your temporary strength has vanished, if you hadn't noticed." Lopmon was right. The black energy had completely dissipated around Impmon. "By putting all your strength into one blow, you wasted your power and didn't even really hurt him. As it is, this digimon's power is enough to go against a Perfect-level digimon. It is a wonder he has not _evolved_ to Perfect-level as strong as he is!"

Impmon just stared blankly. "So. Uh. Um..."

"The point of all that is," Lopmon continued, "if you survived this long, the only reason is because he was toying with you!"

"Heh. Finally, a smart one," DarkLizamon grinned, and then took a swipe at both of them with his claw. The other two digimon dodged, and the resulting impact of the claw against the road shattered the place he hit.

"Shuichon!" Lopmon shouted as he landed. "We cannot beat him like this! We must-!"

Lopmon was interrupted as a yellow blur suddenly rammed right into DarkLizamon, knocking him a good distance away from Lopmon and Impmon. Renamon landed in front of the two smaller digimon, her gaze focusing in on their enemy. "You're correct, Lopmon," Renamon stated. "You can't beat him."

"For something like this," Ruki said as she walked up the sidewalk past Takato, "we'll finish the job. No sense in playing around with something this strong."

"Ruki-san..." Shuichon said, with an oddly disappointed look on her face.

Takato finally got back onto his feet and looked at the redhead. "You're saying you guys can beat this thing on your own?"

Ruki smirked. "What kind of stupid question is that? Of course we can. We've taken out much worse, and have been challenged by better."

The young man clenched his fist as several thoughts went through his head. He didn't want to run away like some sort of coward... but, at the same time, he had something else he needed to do. After everything that boy had said before DarkLizamon appeared...

"Ruki," he said, "Reika-san asked me to do something. She had Impmon and I following the younger brother of that girl who was injured by Evilmon. Some of the things he said... the way he acted... I think he knows something about what happened there. I think that he knows about the digimon. And he saw DarkLizamon appear and ran off. He saw... he saw Impmon too. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it really couldn't be helped..."

Ruki looked at him for a moment, a mild hint of surprise in her eyes. She then switched back to focus on the rising DarkLizamon. "Go. You and Shuichon both, take your partners and chase after this kid. We'll take it from here."

"You're... serious?"

Ruki looked back at him, this time almost glaring. "You have a hearing problem?"

"Ri-right," he stammered, and then looked to Impmon. "C'mon. We need to get going."

Impmon growled. It was quite obvious he didn't like the prospect of turning away from the fight, but at the same time, they didn't have much choice. Whether he liked it or not, he had to admit he couldn't take DarkLizamon on as he was. Takato and Shuichon looked at one another, nodded, and simultaneously deactivated their Draw Fields. With that, they and their partners ran with Takato leading the way.

He only hoped that Ruki could back up her boasts, and that this wouldn't turn out like the last time she came to his aid...

* * *

Metal clashed against metal, the sound of it ringing out across the construction yard. As Musyamon swung his sword, Galgomon blocked with his gun hands, and in turn, Musyamon blocked his punches with his blade. With every clang that went back and forth between them, it was very apparent that the two were on an even level of skill. This was something, Jenrya was certain, that Musyamon would hate to admit.

Jenrya didn't like to fight. He didn't like to watch something like this, but there was no choice in the matter. There never seemed to be... When the Icemon appeared in IceDevimon's Draw Field, he didn't hold Terriermon back because he knew his partner. He knew that Terriermon was only acting on instinct to protect all of them, and that he could sense they were about to be attacked.

Their confrontation with IceDevimon, on the other hand, was unlike him, he realized. He was so angry over the prospect of what IceDevimon could do - or may have done - that he let his emotions get the better of him. In the end, that served little purpose other than nearly getting killed.

Meeting this Musyamon, however... he wanted to try, if only for a moment, to speak. He wasn't like that Yashamon who appeared before Impmon. He hadn't done anything yet. He thought that, maybe, if he just tried to talk things out... but again, it degraded into this. As soon as Minami was put in danger, he knew it had to be stopped.

"Lee-kun..."

Jenrya looked over to see Minami walking over, limping slightly. "Are you alright, Uehara-san?"

"I think my ankle's sprained a little," she murmured, and then started to speak again, but Jenrya cut her off.

"If you can't run, then take cover," he said sternly. "It won't do you any good to be near me right now, since I've offered myself up as a target. I don't know why you were here, Uehara-san, but now's not the time to worry about that. Just get some place safe and away from Musyamon. I can't let you get involved in this."

Minami's mouth hung open for a moment, but she then silently nodded, moving off to take cover.

The rain was still very cold, Jenrya realized, as he tried to focus back on the fight. He would probably be sick as a dog after this was over, but he couldn't worry about that. "Okay, Galgomon!" Jenrya shouted, and his partner took that as a cue to stop trading blows and leap away, dodging one last swipe of Musyamon's sword. It was obvious the battle was going nowhere. Thus, Jenrya held out his D-Ark in one hand, and a Psi Card in the other. "Psi Card Slash! STRENGTH BOOSTER!"

Galgomon gave a cry as he ran back towards Musyamon, throwing one more punch. This time, as Musyamon blocked with the flat of his sword, the force of Galgomon's punch knocked the blade right out of his hands. Another punch followed quickly, Galgomon's metal gun-hand slamming into Musyamon's face. The warrior flew back, and... flipped over in mid-air, landing on his feet. Despite the blood now running from the side of his mouth, Musyamon just grinned madly.

_Direct attacks like that never seem to work for us when it counts,_ Jenrya grimaced. _I've been told this countless times, yet I never seem to really learn it..._

"That was good, pup!" Musyamon laughed, walking over and picking up his sword. "Real good! Looks like this might be fun, after all!"

The _last_ thing this was going to be was fun... _I always wind up going all out, get overzealous... and look where it gets me. What I need to do here is think. Think about everything I've been told... about everything I know I _should_ be doing..._

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Well, that, um... took awhile, didn't it? Heh. Uh. Right. Well, I had a lot of things on my plate the past couple of months, so writing had to take a back seat. But, I'm back now, so things should be moving again. :P

As well, the title for ID will change to "Inner Demons Phase One: Rising Shadow" in the _next_ chapter. (A slight change from what I had in mind before, but not much.) So keep a look out. :)

* * *

_"What is it that one truly needs to do? This is the question Lee Jenrya asks himself as he confronts not only his opponent, but himself..."  
**Next: Realization 13- "Second Stage"**_


	14. Realization 13: Second Stage

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

She sat on the rooftop, dangling her legs over the edge. Her blue eyes watched, slightly pained, as opposed to their normal dullness. Sitting where she was, staring straight down the length of a moderately sized building would frighten many people, or at least make them slightly uneasy. Her own mortality was something that did not typically factor into Alice McCoy's mind.

She had been watching this battle - Takato and Impmon desperately struggling against DarkLizamon - with a keen eye for some time. Throughout the whole thing, she had to hold herself back... She wanted to interfere, as she had in the past. To defend him.

However, she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she couldn't. She certainly _wanted_ to, but if she kept on doing that, she knew it wouldn't help him in the long run. If she always got in the way of these battles, she knew he wouldn't ever be able to grow stronger...

...of course, then, others arrived to help him regardless. That younger girl from before, her digimon... and then, there was _them_ after that...

_"You certainly have grown wise, my child,"_ came a voice, sharp and commanding, but with an odd gentleness. She heard it in the back of her mind, knowing that _he_ wasn't there, and yet still knew what she was doing.

Alice gulped slightly, pressing her D-Ark against her chest. "It... hurts. Not physically. I can't understand it. It makes no sense. But just sitting here, watching him come to harm... it's... I can't describe it..."

_"You still have much to learn, and much more to experience before you can come to be what you want, my dear Alice..."_

Alice nodded half-heartedly, frowning. "Yes..." Her eyes then focused on four of them running from the battle. "The little girl and her partner have left with him. I'll foll-"

_"No."_

The word almost felt as if it caused her physical pain. An icy chill ran over Alice's body as that voice lost any gentleness it could have had. To not act as she was supposed to seemed so incomprehensible to her mind right then that she wasn't sure what to think. "M-Master..."

_"It is already being handled. Your services are not currently needed in that area. Understood?"_ Alice felt herself become slightly limp, her arms falling down to her lap. Any will to make any sort of movement left her body. "Of course..."

_"You do need to vacate that area, however. _They_ are there, are they not?"_

Alice eyed the combatants remaining to fight DarkLizamon: The redheaded young woman, Makino Ruki, and her partner, Renamon. Alice's body straightened back up, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Yes. I do," she murmured, and swung around on the rooftop's edge, standing up and walking across it. Dobermon had been standing behind her the whole time silently, not saying a word, and he followed as she walked away. She had to do what she had to do...

That didn't mean, though, that it didn't continue to cause her feelings she couldn't hope to try and understand...

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Phase-One: Rising Shadow  
Realization 13- _"Second Stage"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

"That was amazing, Shuichon-chan!" Takato exclaimed as he and the younger girl ran in the general direction Hoshi Hikaru had gone in. Impmon and Lopmon were sticking to the rooftops and alleyways, so as to stay out of the public eye.

Shuichon's head suddenly snapped in his direction, as if she were in a trance. "Um, what was?" she asked quickly, her face slightly flushed.

"What Lopmon did to DarkLizamon!" Takato replied. "Impmon tried the same thing, and didn't even do a thing to him!" Quickly, the Tamer ducked a flying soda can from the alley they were currently passing. Needless to say, it was fairly easy to guess where Impmon was. He ignored it, though. "I had no idea he was that strong without even evolving. You must be a really good Tamer, Shuichon-chan."

Shuichon's face went completely red and she looked forward. "N-no, I'm not. Not really..."

"C'mon, what are you talking abou-?"

"SO!" Shuichon exclaimed, cutting him off, coming to a sudden stop, and planting her hands on her hips. "How far could this guy have gone, anyway? We've got to find him quickly, right? After all, Reika-san needed this done, and if she needed it done, it's important, so we've got to find him fast or else she'll be upset and Yamaki-san will be mad and Yamaki-san isn't nice when he's mad and we'll both be blamed even though Ruki-san told us to go-"

Takato stared at her, his mouth agape. He had forgotten how much she could talk without pausing. Or breathing, it seemed. "Shuichon... chan..."

"Shuichon!" Lopmon suddenly exclaimed, dropping down from a building and landing on her shoulders. Both humans tensed momentarily, their eyes darting around to make sure no one else had seen him.

"L-Lopmon!" Shuichon exclaimed. "What have Jen-niichan and I told you about being careful?"

Lopmon blinked, and then bowed his head. "Apologies. However," he raised his head back up, pointing off down another nearby street. "I sense something strange in that direction. It's not DarkLizamon, nor the other digimon that appeared across town."

Shuichon suddenly looked a slight bit upset at the mention of the latter. Takato, on the other hand, was surprised. "There's another digimon that appeared?"

Shuichon nodded, frowning. "Jen-niichan and Terriermon must be fighting it. I'm sure of it..."

_She looks so sad over that,_ Takato noted to himself. _Of course, they did nearly get killed fighting IceDevimon..._ Shuichon shook her head, reverting to her normal expression. "Takato-san, this guy shouldn't be doing anything that our digimon would sense, should he?"

Takato shook his head. "I wouldn't think so... but if something else is going on, we should check it out. If we can't find him, I'm sure Yamaki-san can find a way. But if something else weird is going on..."

"Right then! ONWARD!" Shuichon exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air, running off in the direction that Lopmon was pointing.

"Y'ever get the feelin' she's a kinda mental?" Impmon's voice suddenly asked. Takato jumped in surprise, looking around again to make sure no one saw _him._ "IMPMON!" Takato shouted, then, having little patience right then, pulled off his backpack and opened it up. "That's it, BACK IN!"

Impmon growled. "NEVER!"

Takato wasn't even going to try reasoning this time. He grabbed Impmon by the back of his scarf, tossed him into the backpack head first, swung it over his back, and ran off after Shuichon.

"Mutterfuffer!" was Impmon's muffled reply from within the bag.

* * *

Had he wanted to, DarkLizamon would have had no problems stopping Takato, Impmon, Shuichon, and Lopmon from leaving the battle. Or at the very least, he could have prolonged their leaving. Ruki knew all of that, and yet the Adult-level digimon had made no such efforts.

"So," Ruki said. "Just what are you up to?"

DarkLizamon eyed the girl. "You're wondering why I let your friends go, are you not?"

"Huh. A smart one," Renamon said. "Now there's something you don't see every day."

"Or often," Ruki added.

"Funny," DarkLizamon said. "At least you have an appreciation for intelligence. No, I'm not stupid... hence why I would rather take on your partner digimon by herself."

Ruki suppressed a smirk. "Wow. He _is_ smart."

"Don't treat me like I'm a Baby-level," DarkLizamon stated. "Evolve. I refuse to be beaten by a mere Child-level digimon."

"Well then," Ruki said, pulling out her D-Ark. "Who are we to deny someone their dying wish?"

* * *

It was quickly becoming apparent to Juri that a hobby shop such as the one she was in wasn't quite used to having pretty young girls as customers. The looks she had received when she and Hirokazu entered tipped her off to that. The looks she was _continuing_ to get were beginning to creep her out.

"So, um, Hirokazu-kun," Juri said, brushing some hair away from her eyes and using that as a brief way to block out those looking at her. The other teenager was busy staring at a case of Digimon cards. "Why exactly are you doing this, anyway? I haven't seen you show much interest in this sort of stuff in a long time..."

"Well, it's not that I wasn't interested," he said, and then frowned a bit. "It was that I was an idiot."

Juri bit her lip, if only to stop herself from saying something to that could be seen as mean. It's not that she meant to think something like that, of course. It was more what some of her _friends_ would probably say to that comment.

"I was so caught up in wanting to be a 'cool guy' that I didn't really even know what that meant," Hirokazu muttered. "I wanted to be _somebody_, and not just some everyday scrawny-assed dork. When I did that, though, I left Takato out to dry. I want to make that up to him, now." He then brightened up, pumping a fist into the air. "So! I'm going to remember everything there is to know about digimon, that way I can find some way to help him out!"

Juri looked at him for a second, and then simply just... smiled. Hirokazu raised an eyebrow. "What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing funny at all," she said softly. "I just think it's sort of sweet."

He looked back, blinking several times, and then coughed into his hand, turning his head to cover his face turning red. "Well, uh, I wouldn't exactly say that. I just want to help my fellow man in his battles of life and death!"

Juri giggled. "See, now, I thought you were over that whole 'acting macho' thing."

"I am, it's just..." he sighed in frustration and defeat. "Okay, fine, whatever. Just don't put it like that in front of anyone else!"

"Alright," she said simply. "I'm just glad, that's all."

"Glad?"

"That you and Takato-kun are friends again," Juri replied. "That's something everyone needs. And after everything Takato-kun's been through..."

Hirokazu nodded, clenching one fist and holding it up. "I promise, I'm gonna make up for everything, and then some. Wherever I can, I'm gonna make sure Takato doesn't have to deal with these things by himself anymore." To Hirokazu's surprise, the girl then lightly hit her fist against his. He stared at her strangely. "Wha..."

"Then lets both make that promise," Juri said. "That we won't ever let Takato-kun be by himself again. We'll back him up one hundred and one percent through this whole mess, and not abandon him under any circumstances." She then smiled brightly again. "Promise?"

Hirokazu grinned back at her. "Right. That's a promise."

Juri then gave a squeal as someone suddenly ran right into her. She instinctively smacked the perpetrator away, and then stopped short when she realized who it was.

"I'm sorry!" the green-haired boy exclaimed, grabbing his cheek where he had been slapped. "I was just in a hurry and..." He trailed off as he saw them.

"Kitagawa-kun?" Juri questioned. "Sorry about the slap, I just thought you were some stranger..."

"Katou!" Kenta exclaimed, and then looked at Hirokazu, instantly going a tad pale. "Sh-Shiota..."

"Dude," Hirokazu said, crossing his arms. "I'm not working with Katoki and the Kobayashi brothers anymore. You saw what happened in class the other day, right?"

"Ri-right," Kenta stammered. He then glanced back and forth between the both of them. "Hey, why are you two... you two aren't, like..."

Hirokazu obviously didn't catch what Kenta meant at first. Juri, however, did, and her face turned a bright red. "N-no! Why would you think something like _that_?"

"Oh, okay," Kenta said, and then glanced around nervously. "So, um... yeah. Bye!" With that, he bolted straight out the door.

"Wonder what _that_ was about..." she murmured, and then turned to see Hirokazu with his arms still crossed. Now he was staring at _her._

"Geez, don't make it sound like a crime or something," he muttered.

_Okay,_ she realized, blushing again, _maybe he _did_ understand what Kitagawa-kun was assuming..._

"Ah, I'm just kidding!" Hirokazu snapped back to normal, smiling happily. "We should probably get out of here anyway. I'm done looking around, anyway." He started walking towards the door and chuckled a bit. "'Sides, I know you've got to be sick of the otaku in here glancing at you. You'd think they never saw a cute girl before!"

Juri's face went _completely_ red at that comment, but she still followed after him. _Now he's just teasing me!_ she thought to herself. _But, still... it's nice to have to old Hirokazu-kun coming back..._

* * *

"GATLING ARM!"

A hailstorm of bullets erupted from Galgomon's gun-hands, blasting across the rain-soaked construction yard towards Musyamon. The warrior digimon dove out of the way, behind a pile of concrete blocks and out of Galgomon's line of sight. Galgomon growled, lowering his arms, but not moving. If not for the subtle link between his mind and Jenrya's, the Adult-level digimon would have more than likely charged after Musyamon, despite knowing better.

Jenrya hated taking any fight to this level. He knew that the fight couldn't end until Musyamon was dead, unable to cause anymore harm. What disturbed him, however, was the fact that the thought of having to snuff out another's life didn't bother him like it once did. He wondered, briefly, if that was his digimon partner's natural instincts reflecting back on his mind through their link. Even still, it made him feel slightly sick to his stomach.

How had he felt when battling IceDevimon? Jenrya had wanted the fallen angel digimon dead. Utterly destroyed. The fact that he _had_ wanted this never crossed his mind once in that fight. Being able to look back at it, though, Jenrya found himself being quite bothered by that fact. It was a nagging little feeling in the back of his mind, bothering him every waking moment.

He had been taught to respect life. More over, to respect the lives of others and hold them at the highest of values. Yet, he had killed by way of granting Terriermon his power. Since he first met Terriermon, he had brought an end to the lives of several digimon. Though made of data, they were living, breathing creatures. They weren't quite human, driven by their own natural instincts and having habits different from the flesh and blood humans, but they were about as close as one could get.

He did this in self-defense, and in the defense of others, right? That's what he told himself. That's what he _had_ to tell himself in order to remain sane. He needed to do this for the sake of others... even if it went against everything he had ever been taught. Even if it cost him his own morality. His humanity...

"WHITE BIRD SWORD!"

Jenrya snapped out of his thought pattern, seeing Musyamon coming back across the slick ground again. Barely even thinking, Jenrya moved, and Galgomon moved in perfect synch with him. As Galgomon avoided his opponent's lunge, without even going off of Jenrya's prompting, he quickly turned, punching Musyamon hard in the side of the head as he passed.

Musyamon screamed as he was knocked away, flipping over and landing roughly on the ground. Galgomon then smirked, leveling his guns back at his downed enemy. "Heh!" Musyamon laughed, trying to push himself back up. "Real classy. So, what're you waitin' for? Shoot me!"

Jenrya looked back and forth between the two digimon. It would be so easy for Galgomon to just end the battle right then and there... to just simply shoot Musyamon when he was defenseless. Why shouldn't he? But...

Musyamon spit some blood out of his mouth and hefted his sword up. "Pansies." He then tossed his sword right at Jenrya.

There wasn't any time for Jenrya to erect a Draw Field. Barely enough time for him to move an inch. He tried to dive out of the way, but was barely fast enough. Though he avoided getting run through by it, the blade still managed hit his side. Jenrya felt as if everything in his world had stopped, if only for an instant, before he could feel his flesh being ripped open. Blood spilled from the wound, and Jenrya dropped to the ground like a rock, screaming at the top of his lungs.

He just laid there, watching helplessly as a similar wound suddenly appeared on Galgomon. The digimon gave a scream, but was able to barely keep on his feet. At least, he did until Musyamon rushed him, punching the other Adult-level square in the face. Galgomon fell back, and Jenrya likewise felt an invisible force pounding him in the face. This succeeded in breaking the boy's nose, as well, but the pain he was feeling then was so intense that a little bit more didn't matter.

There was nothing else he could do but lay there, writhing in pain. Much like the blood from his wound, tears flowed freely. He grasped around wildly, but he couldn't imagine what he could possibly find to help him... then his hand suddenly latched onto something. He quickly realized this was Musyamon's foot. A foot which quickly connected with Jenrya's chest, knocking him back several feet, and making him land on his open wound.

All he _could_ do was scream some more, until Musyamon grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him high up. "You're real dumb, kid," the warrior grinned.

It was true that if he had remained behind his Draw Field, he would have been safe. Minami, however, wouldn't have. If he had brought it back up, the Wild One would have just gone after her again. That's what he had figured, anyway...

Jenrya could taste his own blood now. He realized his nose must be bleeding from one of the earlier blows... but that didn't seem to matter much anymore. It was over. Everything was over...

"LET GO OF HIM!" Galgomon screamed, and through his now-blurry vision, Jenrya could see his partner rushing up behind Musyamon. The warrior just chuckled, grabbing Jenrya's left arm. One quick squeeze and a snap later, Jenrya's arm was broken and Galgomon was on his knees clutching his own.

Musyamon laughed. "Just like a voodoo doll!" This was it. This was where he was going to die...

Everything he had ever done. Everything he had ever _tried_ to do... it was all for nothing, now. No one was going to show up at the last second to save him this time...

_Shuichon, Dad, Mom, Neesan, Oniisan... Terriermon... Zhao-sensei..._

"It's over," Musyamon grinned, raising a fist in preparation to pound it into the human.

Jenrya couldn't move any longer. He couldn't say anything. He couldn't even bring himself to cry out in pain any longer. There just wasn't any point. _I'm sorry, everyone..._

* * *

"Jianliang. Look up at me."

Eight year-old Lee Jenrya didn't want to do as he was told. He stood at the doorway that belonged to an older Chinese man, who was standing before him. A stern look was held in his eyes, which was in stark contrast to the kindness usually reflected in them. The little boy had taken one glance at him and didn't want to have to do that again. He didn't want to face this man...

"S-Sensei... I..."

The man, Zhao, sighed and kneeled down, patting the young boy on the head. Jenrya tried to look away, but Zhao held his head in place. "Jianliang, you're lucky you're even able to come over here today. Or that your parents aren't in any trouble."

Jenrya sniffled, tears welling up in his eyes. "I... I didn't mean to, Sensei..."

Zhao sighed again, rising up and taking the boy's hand. "Come along. We're not going to do any training today. I just want to speak with you."

In a way, being scolded by this man seemed somehow worse than with his parents. The boy couldn't help but look up to him, and always had. To have let him down like he knew he had...

They walked in silence until they reached the man's parlor. He had Jenrya take a seat, and then did the same himself. The boy still refused to look at his Sensei. Despite that, Zhao began to talk. "I must apologize to you, Jianliang. I've let both you and your father down."

The boy blinked in surprise. What did _he_ have to apologize for? Jenrya was the one who had gotten in that fight. _He_ was the one who had broken that other young boy's arm.

"I've tried to teach you many things," Zhao said. "Just as I've taught your older brother and sister. Yet, it seems obvious I didn't instill things into you that I should have..."

Young Jenrya frowned deeply. For this man he respected so much to be speaking with such an amount of shame in his voice just didn't seem... right.

"I'm sure you realize what you did wasn't right," the man continued, and Jenrya nodded earnestly. In fact, the boy had been scared out of his mind when it happened. "I know you're a smart enough child to figure that out. You're a good boy, Jianliang. You're a good boy who just made a very bad mistake."

"I... I know," Jenrya mumbled.

"The failing lies with me," he continued. "Jianliang, there is a stark difference between defense and offense. What I teach you here is something I hope you never have to use outside this building, on other people. However, I'm also not foolish enough to assume the world outside is going to be so friendly. I understand that there may come a time where you have to call on the skills I've taught you. What you have to learn is _how_ to properly utilize what I have taught."

"Yes, Sensei..."

"You have a natural ability. You've adapted so well to everything I've taught you. So, please take my words to heart," the man said, and then paused briefly. "There are more than likely times in your life where you will have to fight. If it must come to that, do so _wisely_. As I said, you're smart, Jianliang. Use your _mind_. The average schoolyard bully isn't worth what you could potentially do to them. Otherwise, you will become that bully. "You need to fully realize what it is you are doing. If you fight, fight to protect. Whether it's yourself or anyone who must be protected. Do not fight towards simply harming someone. They are, more than likely, going to that to themselves. Just throwing yourself out there is going to wind up harming you in the end. Only go as far as you need to. Do you understand me, Jianliang?"

"To protect..." Jenrya mumbled.

Zhao nodded. "I won't lie to you and say there aren't bad people in the world. That child wasn't one of them, and he is not the type of person you should be fighting. I earnestly hope that you don't ever meet anyone that you have no choice but to fight. The line between right and wrong can be a gray one, but you just have to learn when and where to stand your ground. I trust you to not do something like this again. So do your mother and father. I just wanted to make sure all of this is clear to you."

The young boy stared at his Sensei for a long moment, digesting everything he had said. He then smiled, nodding. He would make sure that nothing like that happened again. He would make certain of that, and to take his Sensei's words to heart, as the man had requested.

To protect, and to defend...

* * *

"IT'S OVER, KID!"

No.

It couldn't be over. Not yet.

Jenrya knew that he still had too much to fight for. Too many people he needed to protect. So much that he needed to defend.

His body still felt so heavy, the pain was still so great. He was wet, drained, and bleeding. Despite all of that, he couldn't stop. He couldn't just stay where he was and die!

Musyamon's fist flew at him. It seemed to move almost in slow motion, and in that instant, he raised his unbroken, right arm, as if he were going to catch the digimon's fist with his bare hand. An act that should, by all rights, be impossible for a human to do with a digimon.

Then, it happened. A soft glow appeared around the palm of his hand, mere centimeters from his skin. And, to Musyamon's complete shock, Jenrya caught his fist. Or, to be exact, the small energy shield covering just his hand did.

"Not... yet," Jenrya grunted, scowling at the Adult-level digimon. "You haven't beaten us... NOT YET!"

Feeling a sudden burst of adrenaline flowing through him, Jenrya pushed back on Musyamon's fist and to _his_ surprise was able to knock the digimon back several feet by doing so. The teenager was released and dropped to his feet. He was also surprised to find he could actually _stand up_ still. Every bit of pain from his injuries was still there, though the bleeding seemed to have stopped for some reason. Yet he also felt a strange sense of energy running through every fiber of his being. He could somehow withstand that pain, and focus back on the task at hand. He couldn't really even begin to describe how it truly felt.

The glow from his hand began to stretch over the rest of his body, and he glared at Musyamon. The digimon snarled, shaking a fist at the Tamer. "How could you do that? You're just a human!"

"I'm human, yes. But not just that," he growled. It sounded rather cocky - more like something Ruki would say - but he had been pushed far enough that he didn't really care at this point. "I'm the Guard Tamer, Lee Jenrya!"

Musyamon scoffed. "You're givin' yourself some fancy little name now? So what?"

Jenrya looked at the glow that was still covering him. "And this, this is..." he trailed off. He didn't quite know _how_ he knew what it was, but something, somewhere, in the back of his mind told him everything he needed to know. "Draw Field SECOND STAGE!" The glow erupted around him, and in a flash, his entire body was shielded just as his hand had been a moment before. "PERFECT GUARD!"

"Oh, big freakin' deal!" Musyamon yelled, dashing at Jenrya and tossing a punch straight for his head. Jenrya didn't even flinch, and the punch... did nothing, being stopped not even an inch from his face. "What the hell..."

Jenrya balled up the fist of his only good arm and punched out. The shield surrounding his fist collided with Musyamon's gut, and the warrior went flying, crashing straight through the pile of blocks he had been hiding behind earlier.

Jenrya looked over at Galgomon, who was now getting to his feet, despite having all the same wounds. "You alright to fight for a bit longer, partner?"

Galgomon grinned. "Moumantai, Jen!" he said, and then pumped his good arm into the air. "I don't know why, but I feel like I could take a hundred more rounds with this punk!" He then looked at his Tamer. "But, uh, what happened to you, anyway?"

Jenrya smiled half-heartedly. "Wish I could really explain it..."

"YOU BASTARDS!" Musyamon howled, climbing out of the rubble that had just been created. He extended one hand, and his sword flew from where it was laying right back to him. "Y'know, I thought I could just have fun with you punks for awhile... I had no idea you'd be this serious..."

"In other words," Galgomon laughed, "you underestimated us!"

The warrior gave another growl. "I've ripped Perfect-level digimon apart with my bare hands! You guys are nothing in comparison to some of the things I've fought! And NOW, you've gone and completely pissed me off!"

"Fine by me," Jenrya spat, and then tossed his D-Ark high in the air.

Galgomon blinked. "Err, Jen, what're you..."

"I'm done with this," Jenrya muttered, holding out his good hand. "I'm done with him. I'm done fighting." A blue glow erupted from it. "I only want to fight to protect." The glow swirled around, rapidly forming something in-between Jenrya's fingers. "I only want to go as far as I need to." A card. "But this guy won't LET me do that!" A shining blue card. "So this has to be done!" As the D-Ark came down, Jenrya swiped the card up, hitting the device's slot. "WE'RE FINISHING THIS **NOW!** PSI CARD SLASH! MATRIX EVOLUTION!"

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Well! It's nice to be back on track. I'd like to give a big hand to people over at the "Little Details" community on LiveJournal for help I had with this chapter. Considering the formatting problems that can be had by me trying to post a link, just go to my LiveJorunal's profile page to find it.

"Jianliang" is Jen's proper Chinese name. I've considered whether or not to switch to using that, but haven't fully decided yet. Regardless, I think it worked for where it was used here.

As well, you'll notice that the fic's title change has taken effect. I'll make sure to have that reflected in all chapters soon.

That said, in regards to the reviewer who claims "Impmon sucks" because he can't take on Adult-levels like Guilmon did... Note that Guilmon took on ONE Adult-level in the first bunch of episodes and won as a Child-level. He beat IceDevimon, and as you can probably see, that enemy was given a power boost in this series. Devidramon was beaten as Growmon, so he doesn't count towards that. Takato & Impmon haven't been in as many battles as Takato & Guilmon had by Episode 10 of the anime, either. And there are differences in their relationships that will be addressed. Everything's done for a reason. So I don't really see where that comment (and another reviewer who claimed I'm making Takato look like an "idiot") comes from. :)

* * *

"The two battles draw to a close, for better or worse. All the while, Takato, Shuichon, and their partners come across something that will shift the entire playing field forever..."  
**_Realization 14- "Re: Nightmare"_**


	15. Realization 14: Re: Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

It was a disturbing feeling, Reika realized. Standing there in the hospital room of an injured girl that seemed to be just clinging to life. To being lying to her parents, right to their faces, about what happened, and about who Reika herself was. To them, for all she had said, she was a detective. Even had the fake credentials to prove it to the untrained eye. They had no reason to disbelieve her, and in fact, seemed desperate to actually _talk_ to someone.

There didn't seem to be anything unusual about the Hoshi family, on the surface. Reika knew that from the start. Yet, she had also figured out at the start that there was something wrong about Hoshi Yumi's family. Something that was locked away by the psychiatrist they had seen for the young woman. In her research, Reika had quickly discovered an inability to hack any information from that doctor, on account of the fact that he kept all his files on paper. Only. As luck would have it, this doctor seemed to have an aversion to computers. Knowing that the information was confidential, there was no point even seeing that person. No, the only people that could answer her questions were Yumi's parents.

Of course, there was also her brother. Something was _very_ wrong there, no doubt about it. She just hoped she had made the right decision sending Takato after him...

Eyeing the two adults across from her - Yumi's parents, Satoru and Michiru - Reika bit her lip slightly. She needed to figure out how to ask the proper questions without these people kicking her out of the room. "Hoshi-san," Reika said, eyeing the man. "You said that she's had problems with her younger brother, Hikaru, correct?"

Satoru nodded, solemnly. "Yes... I know, you probably saw me yelling at him out there-"

"You mustn't believe he had anything to do with this, though!" Michiru added suddenly. "There was no way he could have been at her school, after all... the two of them... they've just... had problems, that's all..."

Reika looked at the woman carefully. There was something in her eyes. Something wrong. Was that... fear that she saw?

"Right," Reika said, forcing a rather convincing smile. "Of course not. I'm just trying to understand everything, that's all. We need as much information as we can get for our investigation." She then took a breath. The next question was going to be the hardest. "Your daughter... would you two have any reason to believe that she could be... involved in anything that would lead to this happening?"

"_Excuse_ me?" Satoru questioned, anger quickly rising in his voice. He took a step forward, and Reika instinctively took a step back.

"I mean no disrespect," Reika said rapidly. "It's just something we sometimes see-"

"Are you trying to say my daughter is some kind of _delinquent_?" Satoru growled. "That she might be somehow _disturbed_ enough to do something _herself_ that would cause this?"

He was jumping to conclusions, Reika noticed. Fast. Much _too_ fast...

"Hoshi-san, I-"

"You're just like all the rest," the man spat. "Yumi is a good girl. _My_ good girl, who I've sacrificed so much for to give a good life. For you to come in here accusing me-"

Reika's eyes narrowed. Something was starting to click in her mind. "Sir, I never accused you of anything."

"Honey, please-" Michiru started.

"QUIET!" the man suddenly shouted, not even bothering to look at his wife. He just continued glaring at Reika. "Just get out of my sight."

Reika glared right back at him. "Gladly." She then spun around on her heel and headed out the door. First the son blew up, then the father. Something was going on that Reika wasn't seeing.

However, given what they were dealing with, she was certain it wasn't anything like it seemed...

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Phase-One: Rising Shadow  
Realization 14- _"Re: Nightmare"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

The green & silver D-Ark of Lee Jenrya clattered onto the slick, rain-soaked concrete. For the slightest moment, it seemed as if the young man's Card Slash had done nothing. Then, a light of the brightest blue illuminated from the device, piercing through the darkness of the Digital Field until it found its way to Galgomon.

"Galgomon, EVOLVE!"

The light then shone from the digimon as power wrapped around his being, changing him. His body became far larger, and yet his frame was thinner than before. It was soon, however, supplemented by various pieces of cybernetic armor appearing and melding themselves into his body. As a mask slid over his face, covering everything but his large, and now blue, eyes, a new digimon burst forth from the light, hovering between Jenrya and Musyamon.

"RAPIDMON!"

Jenrya, still surrounded by his powered-up Draw Field, reached down and scooped up his D-Ark. "You really did it," he murmured, practically to himself. "You really evolved..."

"Hah!" Musyamon laughed - forcibly, after he hid his shocked reaction. "This ain't nothin'. I've beatin' Perfect-levels before! No way some newly evolved _pet_ is going to take me down!"

"Rapidmon," Jenrya said, staring up at his partner. "Get-"

Before Jenrya could even say what he was thinking, Rapidmon blinked away for a split second, only to reappear in the same place, now carrying Minami. "Done," the Perfect-level said, his voice strangely even and calm. The girl was absolutely befuddled, looking around wildly, until Rapidmon vanished again.

Jenrya just eyed where Rapidmon had been, completely dumbstruck. He had been about to ask Rapidmon to take Minami away, in case things got out of hand with the increased level of power then in play. Yet, somehow, without even thinking about it, it seemed like his will had been directly reflected upon his partner.

Not about to wait for his other opponent to return, though, Musyamon began rushing Jenrya. He couldn't help but think the Adult-level digimon was just bluffing now - he HAD to know that the sword couldn't pierce the Perfect Guard protecting him right then. Maybe if he kept beating on it, it'd be possible to reduce Jenrya's power in sustaining it, but the Tamer was far from dead yet. He would have to be just that to let _that_ happen.

As Jenrya took up a defensive stance, once more pushing aside all that pain he felt, Musyamon once more swung his sword. This time, however, instead of the sound of energy crackling as it stopped the blow, there was a loud, metal clang.

Rapidmon had reappeared in a fraction of a second, blocking Muysamon's blow with the rocket launcher mounted on his right arm. The digimon's speed was almost incomprehensible. Jenrya couldn't even _see_ him when he moved. "Just so you know, Musyamon," Rapidmon said, still calm, "that, right there, is the LAST time you sword'll touch anyone."

In one swift movement, Rapidmon roughly knocked Musyamon back with that same arm. With that simple action, Musyamon was knocked clear across the construction yard. Though it was hard to tell, he was also fairly sure that Rapidmon just _moving_ against the sword had cracked it down the middle!

Blinking away again, Rapidmon appeared hovering at the other end of the yard. Once Musyamon reached him, he flipped over in the air, slamming a foot into Musyamon's back. This not only obliterated a part of Musyamon's armor, but sent him soaring high into the air. Once again, Rapidmon was fast enough to meet him at his destination. Before gravity even took over, Musyamon was being hit over and over again by Rapidmon. The Ultimate-level digimon would only appear for a second at a time, landing a blow, and then vanishing again to strike him somewhere else before he could retaliate. This resulted in Jenrya being unable to see anything but a green blur knocking Musyamon back and forth across the sky. Finally, Rapidmon appeared above his battered opponent, slamming both rocket-launcher arms into him and knocking him straight into the ground.

The surrounding area trembled as Musyamon plowed a hole straight into the concrete. One chunk of debris flew out towards Jenrya, but it merely glanced off his shield. As the smoke cleared, Musyamon rose unsteadily. Bloody and bruised, with much of his armor broken away and destroyed, he tried to steady himself on his sword... only to fall on his knees when he found there was nothing left but a small shard of the blade on the hilt.

The Adult-level digimon looked up, seeing his Ultimate-level opponent hovering right in front of him. The look in Musyamon's eyes was undeniable. For all of his boasting, for everything he tried to do to him... he was now scared to death. For a moment, Rapidmon leveled one of his rocket launchers at the other digimon's head.

Then, he quickly retracted it, folding his arms and looking over at his Tamer. Jenrya was certain of it, now. The moment a flash of doubt went through his mind as to what to do with Musyamon, Rapidmon relented.

"Heh," Musyamon gave a small laugh, and then coughed hard, blood spilling out onto the ground's wet surface. "Still - just a little mutt... on a collar..."

"This _mutt_ just kicked your _ass_," Rapidmon said, still calm, but sounding a bit more like Terriermon's cocky self.

"This battle is over," Jenrya said, starting to slowly make his way over to the two digimon. Actually, he noticed, the pain of his wounds was steadily starting to increase again, slowing him down a bit. "There's no more point in us fighting."

"You beat me," Musyamon growled, glaring at Rapidmon and ignoring Jenrya. "Finish it."

"I said-" Jenrya began, but was quickly cut off.

"SHUT UP!" the Adult-level digimon screamed. "I said FINISH IT!"

Silence. There was nothing but the sound of rain beating on the ground and the distinctive noise of it hitting Rapidmon's metal armor. The cyborg digimon just stared at his fallen enemy, and then closed his eyes, bowing his head. "Not gonna happen, buddy. If Jen doesn't want me to kill you, I won't."

"You little shit!" Musyamon snapped. "Your nature isn't any different from mine! We share the same instinct, and that instinct tells you-!"

Rapidmon's eyes snapped open, and that look alone somehow silenced Musyamon. "My instinct says that I've learned there's a lot more to life than just beating someone's brains out. That may be the law of the Digital World, but this _isn't_ the Digital World. Jen is my friend. You aren't a threat anymore. So far as I'm concerned, we're _finished._"

"I... can't," Musyamon muttered, holding up the shard of his blade. "I _won't_ just leave it like that..."

"What's the matter?" Rapidmon asked mockingly. "Can't swallow your pride?"

Musyamon glared. "I'm a warrior. When a warrior is defeated," he said, and then flipped the hilt around to point the shard at himself, "HE DIES!"

To the shock and horror of both Tamer and digimon, Musyamon then plowed the blade straight into his neck. The demon man digimon didn't even look to be in pain, and barely had the time to bleed before his body then exploded, fragmenting into data shards.

"That was..." Jenrya began to speak, but couldn't get more than those words out. He suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching his wound as the barrier around him vanished.

"JEN!" Rapidmon screamed, but he too fell, glowing brightly and shrinking back down into the form of Terriermon.

That was it. That was all they could have possibly done. The Digital Field dispersed, and the rain vanished, but that no longer mattered. As Jenrya felt blood start to flow out of his body again, he could feel his world going black, despite the sun now shining down on them.

They had managed to win, finally. Yet, any meaning in that was lost in the fact that it seemed to be the last thing they would ever do...

* * *

Hoshi Hikaru slumped down against a wall in an alleyway. His breath was ragged and strained from running so far so fast. He was drenched in sweat, and his entire body shook uncontrollably as his eyes darted suspiciously in every direction.

Those _monsters_. They were still coming, still appearing. Still there to torment him. They were there for him. They were after him! That was the only thing he could think to explain their sudden presence there. After everything, they wanted to destroy him. To rip him apart. To crush and grind down whatever was left of his spirit.

There wasn't anything else he could do but run. But he couldn't run anymore. His body was so drained...

"So, where do you think you're going?"

The voice - sharp and shrill - was like a knife through Hikaru's heart. For a moment, he couldn't even bring himself to draw breath as he felt an icy chill run up his entire being.

Then, he screamed, bolting upright and holding onto the dumpster next to him to balance himself. "No. No! NO! You stay away from me, you freak!" He couldn't even _see_ anything. But he could certainly hear it, and feel it. It was getting closer and closer, and everything - the world, the sky - seemed as if it was getting darker.

"You know who _really_ hurt your big sister?" the shrill voice continued. "It was YOU!"

"That... that's not possible, I-!"

"_You_ wished it, my friend... and by your will, I made it so! I did, I did!" The blackness continued to wash over the area and Hikaru, and the boy couldn't even bring himself to scream as everything was drowned out by a horrible laughter. "GIHEHEHEHE!"

* * *

The events of this day were starting to make Takato really uncomfortable. It continued to bounce from one thing to another so frequently that it was hard to keep track of everything. The hospital. That boy. DarkLizamon. _Another_ Digital Field appearing across town. And now, this feeling that Lopmon and Impmon were getting... Takato couldn't put his finger on what exactly was happening, he just could tell this whole mess was headed towards a bad place. _Nothing_ about it boded well at all.

"Are you getting anything yet, Lopmon?" Shuichon asked as the two Tamers ran along a sidewalk. The brown and pink digimon was being held in her arms like a stuffed animal. He was doing a pretty good job of acting the part, unlike the squirming Impmon in Takato's backpack.

Lopmon frowned. "We are nearing the disturbance, and yet I still cannot pinpoint what it is, precisely."

Takato's pace became suddenly slower as he felt... something, deep inside. It was both familiar and disturbing, but he just couldn't tell _what_. It seemed as if he should have known, and yet...

"Takato-san?" Shuichon asked, stopping and looking back at him. "Something wrong?"

Something _was_ wrong, but as he tried to say that, he just couldn't get it out. He hadn't known what was coming, but as soon as he saw it, he knew just what it was. Within the space of mere seconds, a dome of black clouds seemed to be expanding from an alley further up ahead. He had never seen this thing from outside, yet the feeling he got from it was exactly what he had felt before.

It was the Nightmare Field, which had been created mere days ago when Evilmon realized into the Human World.

"Shuichon-chan!" Takato exclaimed, moving, not thinking. He grabbed the girl by the arm with one hand, pulling her closer to him. Then, he extended his other hand, crying out, "DRAW FIELD!"

As the barrier expanded around them, the black clouds washed over them. While the Tamers were left unaffected, they watched helplessly as everyone nearby dropped to the ground limp. Takato knew that, physically, they were alright... but given the similar effects, also knew they would soon be experiencing their worst nightmares imaginable.

The most dangerous thing, however, was the fact that anyone nearby in a moving vehicle was then in a decidedly bad position. As a couple drivers on the road next to them were literally falling asleep at the wheel, Lopmon leapt from Shuichon's arms and out of the Draw Field.

"Shuichon!" the small digimon cried. "Evolve me!"

Shuichon broke pulled her arm away from Takato, her face slightly red. "Ri-right!" A pink ball of light appeared in her hand, and she pushed it into her D-Ark. "Psi-Link! EVOLUTION!"

"Lopmon, EVOLVE!" In a flash of pink light, the floppy-eared digimon was replaced by a brow-furred beast. "WENDIMON!"

Leaping out into the middle of the road, Wendimon grabbed two cars that were about to collide with one another. Due to the heavy pedestrian traffic, they hadn't been going too considerably fast, but nonetheless would have collided head-on otherwise. "Shuichon!" Wendimon called out, looking back at his Tamer.

As Takato released his Field, the Nightmare Field's initial danger to them having passed, the two Tamers ran out into the street. Thankful to find the doors to both cars unlocked, they proceeded to put both vehicles in park so they wouldn't roll anywhere. Looking down the street, while another car had ran up into a guardrail, it wasn't too terribly damaged, and no one looked to be hurt.

Giving a sigh of relief, Shuichon, Takato, and Wendimon stared down at the alley this new Digital Field had erupted from. "What _is_ this thing?" Shuichon wondered, glancing at the dormant people, who had yet to start stirring much. Takato knew this was only because their nightmares had just gotten started.

"Something I thought we already destroyed," Takato muttered, and as he finished saying that, Impmon popped out of his backpack.

"Bullshit," Impmon growled. He leapt out of the pack completely, and once he hit the ground, went sprinting for the alley. "THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT!"

"IMPMON!" Takato shouted after his partner, but it was to no avail. Thus, he, Shuichon, and Wendimon gave chase.

Once they saw the sight within the alley, however, they all stopped short. Hovering directly above a hunched over Hoshi Hikaru was none other than the diminutive demon digimon known as Evilmon.

"Gihehehe!" the bat-like creature cackled. "So glad to see you two again. That I am, I am!"

"You!" Impmon snarled. "I killed you, you little rat bastard!"

"Oh really now?" Evilmon questioned, looking down at himself as if to be sure he was still there. "Hmm... nope, don't think so!"

Fireballs flared up on Impmon's fingertips. "Why you little...!"

"Gihehe, maybe, just maybe," the Adult-level digimon started, "it was your _imagination._ Maybe you just _dreamed_ it!"

"But we saw you explode into data!" Takato exclaimed. "How could you possibly..."

"...fake my own depth in a realm where I had complete, dominant control?" Evilmon questioned, his voice becoming oddly serious, though much of his mirth remained.

"FINE!" Impmon screamed. "I'll just kill you again! NIGHT OF FIRE!"

As Impmon lobbed the small fireballs again, Evilmon just giggled. "Hee... what thinks you can? NIGHTMARE SHOCK!"

The blast erupted from Evilmon's mouth _far_ stronger than it had in their last fight. It blew straight through Impmon's fireballs and right into him. As the small demon went flying over everyone and back out into the street, Takato screamed and fell back, barely being caught by Shuichon. She, obviously, didn't have the strength to hold him up, so they both fell. It was enough, at least, to keep him from busting his head open on the ground.

"I know not who you are," Wendimon grunted, stepping forward, "but I will not allow you to harm a comrade!" The beast ran forward, despite the fact that the alley thus confined his ability to move greatly. "CLUB ARM!" He punched out with one arm and it extended far beyond its normal reach. As his fist rocketed for Evilmon, the airborne demon grinned and dodged it quite rapidly. Much like his strength, his speed, too, was greater than before.

Before Wendimon could really react, Evilmon hovered right in front of him. Still grinning madly, he reared his head back. "NIGHTMARE SHOCK!" he screamed again, blasting Wendimon at point-blank. As the larger Adult-level was tossed back, he had to catch himself on a wall, his hand digging right into the brick, to stop himself from falling right on Takato and Shuichon. Instead, he dropped to the ground with a shuddering thud right in front of them.

This time, it was Shuichon's turn to scream, falling back and clutching her chest. As the girl lay there whimpering, Takato picked himself up and stared out around Wendimon.

"You were... before, you were just toying with us," he said slowly, realizing the truth.

Evilmon chuckled and folded his hands behind his back. He gave Takato a look of mock innocence. "Who, little ol' me? I'd never! Never!"

"Why?" Takato asked. "Why did you do all this? What do you want with us? With _me?_ And why are you tormenting this boy after everything you did to his sister?"

"Oooh, am I making someone angry?" Evilmon asked gleefully.

"WHY?" Takato shouted this time, and started to walk forward before Wendimon put a hand out to stop him.

"He is baiting you," the large digimon said. "Do not buy into what he says. He is not the type to tell the truth."

"Oh, and I suppose you are?" Evilmon asked.

Wendimon's eyes narrowed. "I do not understand what you mean."

"Oh, nothing much," Evilmon said, and then grinned even wider, "horn-head."

Wendimon became silent, his eyes widening slightly. "You..."

"As for this little boy here," Evilmon said, and then clapped his hands together wildly. "Gihehehehe! That's the most wonderful part, is it not, partner?"

Hikaru's head jerked up, tears running down his face. "Wh-what?"

"Show them," Evilmon said, now rubbing his hands together. "Show them that wonderful little trinket you've been hiding in your pocket since this morning."

Hikaru's skin suddenly looked considerably more pale. "N-no... that's not! It isn't...!"

"Oh, but it _is_," Evilmon said, floating down near the boy. "It's what you've wanted, isn't it? The power to get back at everyone - at them - at _her!_"

"But you... you..." Hikaru half-sobbed, a shaking hand moving towards his pocket. "I can't..."

"It's yours, so long as you want it," Evilmon said, and then grabbed the boy by his shirt collar. "NOW TAKE IT!"

As Shuichon began to sit up, and Impmon returned limping to the scene, Hikaru gulped hard. The boy reached in his pocket, and retrieved something that made Evilmon's opponents freeze - a D-Ark, colored a deep red and black.

"I can't," Hikaru muttered, and then shook his head wildly. "I JUST CAN'T!"

"It's far too late for that, boy," Evilmon chuckled, and then glanced back at Takato, Shuichon, and their partners. "If you all don't mind, I have something to talk over with this Tamer here."

"No," Takato growled, "we're not going to let you do that!"

But before the brown-haired young man even knew it, they were too late. The black clouds of the Nightmare Field seemed to suddenly be sucked back in around Evilmon, and then, as if they were never there... the Digital Field, digimon, and boy were gone.

"Wh-what," Takato muttered, grabbing a wall and rubbing his sore chest. "What on earth just happened here...?"

"It would seem," Wendimon said, "that boy is a Tamer to that Evilmon..."

"No!" Takato shook his head. "Something's not right. How he reacted to the digimon earlier... and Evilmon, everything he did before, this boy wasn't even there! How could he..." Finally, the Shadow Tamer just grabbed his head and let out a frustrated scream.

"Takato-san," Shuichon said lightly as Wendimon helped her onto her feet. "It's alright. We did the best we could, right?"

"It's... it's not that, Shuichon-chan," Takato said. "Something's just very wrong here. More than you might even think. I just can't figure it out..." He sighed, glancing at Impmon. He had been silent since that blow he took, but just a look at him told anyone how angry he was. He looked like he was about ready to rip the head off of the first person who so much as _looked_ at him funny.

In addition to all that, they could hear people starting to move on the streets again. "Come on, guys," Takato said half-heartedly. "We've got to get Wendimon out of sight... and then, we need to tell the others. Yamaki-san, Ruki, Jen... everyone."

The others had no arguments with that. As they started to move again, though, Takato really felt as if he was about to be ill. His life certainly hadn't been calm since he had met Impmon. It seemed, however, that ever since their involvement, everything had been going very bad, very fast...

* * *

"DREAD FLAME!"

"FOX FLAME DRAGON!"

Ruki visibly winced as the attacks of Kyuubimon and DarkLizamon collided. The Fox Flame Dragon being something that Kyuubimon literally turned _into_ meant that Ruki felt whatever she hit. Colliding with an attack of equal strength really didn't feel too good.

Ever since Ruki evolved her partner into the Adult-level, however, the battle seemed to be very even. DarkLizamon matched Kyuubimon for every attack she threw out, and the same applied for her. With both digimon being at one with their elements, it was exceedingly difficult for one to even hurt the other.

Finally, the clash between the two attacks fizzled out, and neither emerged the victor. The attacks just wound up canceling one another out, so Kyuubimon dropped back to normal and rushed the burning lizard. He jumped out of the way, though, at a surprising amount of speed. Ruki blinked in surprise. The fight with Impmon and Lopmon before hadn't even seemed to slow him down one bit!

Ruki grit her teeth in frustration. She knew she could win the fight easily, but something in the back of her mind was holding her back. She could just go all out, but she had been made to eat her words a bit too much recently. Ever since that battle with IceDevimon...

_I don't want to risk that,_ she thought. _Not again. I can't risk either being beaten _or _bringing that thing out again..._ "So, are we just going to keep going around and around until one of us drops?" DarkLizamon asked. "Or are we actually going to fight?"

Ruki ran a mental inventory of the Psi Cards she had in her possession, and then grinned. "Alright, Kyuubimon! Time to break this clown down until his data's just another part of our collection!"

As she began summoning a card to her hand, however, something rather unexpected occurred. She heard a very loud sound, and upon looking up, the three present saw a helicopter hovering above them. "What the..." she murmured, and then quickly turned as she heard a vehicle pull up. It was a black van, and along with several armed JSDF officers, Yamaki stepped out of it.

"Mission's changed for this one, Ruki," the man said as another van pulled up behind DarkLizamon and Kyuubimon. More officers piled out and began taking up positions. "Whatever you do, don't destroy it. Capture and contain. We need this monster alive and kicking."

"Excuse me?" the redheaded girl asked, eyeing him curiously. "Why in the world do we need to do that?"

"If all this is ever going to end," Yamaki said, not looking at her, and instead staring intently at DarkLizamon, "we have to consider alternate methods..."

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** And so I continue chugging along. Might be a tad shorter this time around, but I was able to pull of what I needed in this chapter in less space than I originally envisioned. Everything's building up now, however, so expect it all to hit the fan very, VERY soon...  
Oh, and I know last chapter's preview said both battles would basically be ending here. Well, that's not COMPLETELY inaccurate... as you'll see.  
I also realize things might seem a bit sudden in this chapter. There's good reasons for everything - at least **I** think so, anyway - so just wait until it all pans out and you'll see. :)

* * *

_"Those moving against the Tamers in the shadows begin to make their move. As all these events start to come together, Takato is coming closer to discovering the true nature of his battle as a Tamer..."  
**Next: Realization 15- "Learning Curve"** _


	16. Realization 15: Learning Curve

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Series Warnings:** Violence; Language; Mature Themes  
**Pairing Types:** Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

DarkLizamon barely even knew what hit him.

Following the appearance of all those other humans, the Tamer named Ruki swiped another one of her cards, shouting, "Psi Card Slash! Water Fusion Level-One!"

After that, the feeling of power that came from Kyuubimon changed entirely. He wasn't sure just _how_ at first, until she inexplicably unleashed a massive burst of water in his direction. Having not worried about her flame-based attacks up until that point, and not expecting this at all, he didn't have an opportunity to dodge. The attack hit him head on, with a strength that little demon he had fought earlier could only _dream_ of having.

DarkLizamon fell, and knew he was at this Tamer and her digimon's mercy. Yet, despite that, nothing more came from them. Instead, he saw the human soldiers leveling their weapons at him, and it hit him.

Their intent wasn't to kill him. That blow had been very precise and aimed solely at the task of temporarily immobilizing him. For what, exactly, DarkLizamon soon found out.

Bolts of electricity suddenly surged out of the humans' weapons and straight through his body. He screamed, for that was all he could really do, other than mentally curse the names of those that brought this upon him. As he began to fall, he could feel the charge of the weapon weaken, and knew for _certain_ they were trying to keep him alive.

_So be it,_ he thought to himself. He made sure to keep the last thing he saw to be Ruki, Renamon, and that man who was bossing them around, _They'll realize their mistake soon enough... They'll wish they had thought to finish me here and now..._

With that, the digimon lost complete consciousness.

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Phase-One: Rising Shadow  
Realization 15- _Learning Curve_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Minami cursed herself as she limped back towards the construction yard. She could see as she neared it that the dark clouds were gone. The battle was over. The Digital Field was no longer there.

If she had just stayed put before and not been caught by Musyamon, then Jenrya and Terriermon wouldn't have been hurt like they had. She knew that. Even though she also knew that it was stupid to go back _again_ after Rapidmon had taken her away, she just couldn't sit around. She had to make sure they were alright, see if they needed medical attention, or if they were even still alive.

She couldn't move very fast, either, due to having hurt her ankle in the ensuing chaos. Even still, she moved along, shivering from the cold. Her clothes were sopping wet from the Digital Field's rain, and they felt very heavy, making it even harder to move. Cold as it was outside, she was certain she'd be feeling the after effects much later.

Finally, she reached the construction yard, and was very surprised upon finding the Tamer and digimon. Not only were they quite alive, and appeared to just be asleep, but their wounds weren't there any longer. It was like the gash that had been torn in Jenrya had never been there, as he wasn't bleeding, and she couldn't see any marks of a cut from where his clothes had been torn. Terriermon, meanwhile, was curled up in a ball, using his ears for a pillow and blanket, and... snoring.

"Lee-kun?" Minami asked cautiously, kneeling down and poking him lightly in the arm.

Almost instantaneously, Jenrya's eyes snapped open and he shot up into a sitting position. The girl jumped back a bit, not expecting such a quick reaction. The Tamer blinked a couple of times, and then felt around, specifically at where he had been cut earlier. "I... I'm alive," he muttered, "and all my wounds are gone... how on Earth..."

"I- I don't know," Minami stammered, and then realized the irony of the situation. _She_ had more injuries than Jenrya, and she hadn't even been fighting. For that matter, his clothes were strangely dry. "I just came here, and... here you were."

Jenrya just blinked some more, stared at his partner sleeping, and then gave a small laugh, shaking his head. "I just don't understand it. I know I'm supposed to heal fast, but this is ridiculous... I don't even feel like I ever fought anything, or that I nearly died..."

Minami sighed, bowing her head. "I... I'm really sorry about everything. I knew I shouldn't have come, and I caused so much trouble. If it hadn't been for me, you might not have gotten hurt like that... and-"

"Don't worry about it, Uehara-san," Jenrya said, smiling slight. He got to his feet and dusted his pants off. "It's over now, right?"

"I know," she said as she stood up too. "It's just, I wanted to know what was happening, and Ruki tries to keep me out of the loop on all of these battles..."

Jenrya walked over and scooped up Terriermon into his arms. The little digimon barely even flinched, and the Tamer turned back to face her. "Don't you think that might be best? Us Tamers have to do what we need to do... if Ruki tries to keep you away from this, it's for your own safety."

Minami frowned. "I know... and, I'm sorry again... I lied to you earlier." Jenrya just stared at her, his expression unwavering. "About Ruki... I think that... I think there _is_ something wrong with Ruki. Something about the way she's been acting lately worries me. I just don't know what it is... If I find out what it is though, if just for her sake, I'll-"

"Uehara-san," Jenrya interrupted. "If it's something that I don't need to know, I really don't want you to feel pressured to tell me. If it's something you know would be a danger to her, though... Again, I'm sorry for ever coming to you like that. But if I can stop something bad from happening, I want to be able to."

"I understand," Minami said, wringing her hands together. "Just... just so long as you promise me to do the same thing. If you find out anything - anything at all - I just... I don't want something to happen to her and not know about it."

Jenrya smiled. "I will. I can promise you that much, at least." Sighing, the young man looked off into the distance. "We have to report back, though. This digimon appearing so close to us just seems too... coincidental."

"M- mouman- tai..." Terriermon mumbled between snores, causing Jenrya to laugh a bit. He looked to Minami, who looked a bit confused.

"Just take it easy, Uehara-san," Jenrya said, and then started to head out of the construction yard. "Get home, and try to dry off before you catch cold."

Minami started to say something again, but then shivered as a heavy gust of cold wind blew by. She realized he definitely had the right idea there, and knew after her experience that day, _listening_ to what Lee Jenrya told you was probably a good idea...

* * *

Ruki never really thought that silence could bother her. As she rode up an elevator with Yamaki in the building that housed Hypnos, however, she found just the opposite to be the case. She knew that Renamon was somewhere close, as well, but also knew the digimon liked to stay completely out of sight in places with many humans, too.

So, for the moment, it just left her with the Hypnos administrator. For all intents and purposes, Yamaki had never been a talkative person. Neither was she, so they both usually could understand that about one another and leave it at that. After what she had just seen, though, the silent treatment was more than a little worrisome.

Why had DarkLizamon just been captured and carted off? Why did she even let herself go _along_ with that? She should have known better. She _did_ know better. After everything she had seen...

"Why?" she finally spoke, not bothering to look up at the man. "What was that all about?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked, his voice hard and stern. There was no real emotion in that question. Yet it was almost like he was daring her to say 'no.'

Normally quick to retort when it seemed like someone was challenging her, Ruki wasn't sure what to say. Memories of that horrible day spent fighting IceDevimon, and of many other things in her past, washed through her mind from that word "trust." For her to say she trusted many people completely was probably one of the hardest things for the Tamer to do honestly.

"I've trusted your word, up until now," Yamaki continued. "Because you've been right about everything that has happened. About everything that is _beginning_ to happen. So my question is, do you trust me in turn?"

For Yamaki to say something like that was definitely odd. Often was it that he kept his emotions - with the exception of anger - to himself. He was stoic, calm, and always certain of his control on all matters. To admit he trusted her words and everything she had said until then was surprising, to say the least.

It was true, also, that she had told him a lot. There were things she had done that no one outside of Yamaki and Renamon knew. Not even her father or her lover were truly aware of everything she had done since becoming a Tamer. She didn't want to force the burden of her own pain onto them if she could avoid it. Yet Yamaki had taken that burden, and from everything she knew, had surprisingly held all that to himself.

"I... do," she murmured slowly. She bowed her head a tad, glancing at the elevator floor as she felt a slight pang of embarrassment.

"Good," he said simply. "Then for now, trust me. If there is a possibility for us to end this, and save all of us, and those we care about, from the grief to come... I'll follow that possibility to its end. As it is, you were going to kill that digimon, anyway. I don't even know if I can be successful... so for now, trust me."

Ruki nodded slightly, and then glanced at him. "Funny, I wouldn't think you were the type who would feel the need to make excuses for your behavior."

"It's not an excuse," he said, stepping out of the elevator as it stopped and its doors opened. "I merely don't find it very advantageous to our situation for someone like you to be angry with me over what happened. It hurts work ethic."

Ruki couldn't help but smirk a bit as she followed him out. "Yeah. I'm sure that's it."

They followed the hallways to the chamber that housed Hypnos. Upon entering the heavy, automatic doors that led into the dimly lit facility, they found pretty much everyone gathered there. Namely, Takato, Jenrya, Shuichon, their partners, Reika, and Megumi. If it wasn't for the fact that it was hard to tell in the dim light, Ruki would've thought Megumi looked a little... pale. Regardless, she was obviously stressed.

"Well, well," Ruki said, glancing around at all of them. Renamon appeared beside her as she spoke. "The gang's all here."

Yamaki folded his hands behind his back, staring intently at all of them. "I trust you all have reports of just what has happened today for me. Ruki has already debriefed me on what happened with the Wild One she battled. And the rest of you...?"

One by one, those gathered rattled off what they knew. First Reika, who was followed by Jenrya. Ruki couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but there was something... missing from everything he told them. At the very least, she was glad that her intuition was once again right, as evidenced by him apparently unlocking Terriermon's Perfect-form.

Then came Takato and Shuichon's report. Ruki was sort of surprised by the fact Impmon actually kept his mouth shut throughout, but the reason for that by the end was obvious... Even _he_ was bothered by the events that had went down.

Just about everyone seemed to be. Yamaki was no exception.

"Let me get this straight," the blond man said, stepping towards Takato and Impmon. "The Wild One you apparently killed days ago, what Ruki called a 'Field Controller,' is somehow inexplicably alive... and partnered to a Tamer, who was the brother of the girl that was attacked?"

"Y-yes sir," Takato stammered, shuffling his feet a bit.

"And he escaped," Yamaki continued.

"We couldn't stop them!" Shuichon said. "They just vanished, like... _poof!_" She made a motion with her hands, opening and closing them as if to imitate said 'poof.'

Yamaki - to Ruki's surprise - remained calm. He sighed a bit, running a hand through his hair. "A renegade Tamer..."

"...this was inevitable," Renamon spoke up, speaking to no one in particular.

"Yeah," Ruki said, frowning. "Just didn't think it would happen so soon. But we knew it'd happen eventually. It was only a matter of time." Her violet eyes turned to Yamaki. "We _told_ you it would happen some day."

"Indeed," Yamaki muttered, rubbing his chin. "...fine, then. We're far from done today. Ruki, Jenrya," he motioned to the both of them, "I want both of you to head out immediately with your partners. Comb every square inch of this city until you find that boy. I'll have Reika and Megumi magnify their searches to try and track down this digimon's signature."

Terriermon, perched on his Tamer's shoulder, pouted. "Aw, man. I was hoping for another nap, at least..."

"And, uh," Takato said, "Shuichon-chan and I... what should we do?"

Yamaki assessed the two Tamers in question, and their partners, briefly. So briefly, Ruki noted, that she was certain he already knew how to answer that question before it was asked.

"Despite what should have been superior numbers, strength, and ability," Yamaki said, "you were defeated. You can't very well expect me to believe it would be any different the second time around so soon afterwards."

"But-!" Shuichon began, only to be silenced as Yamaki raised his hand. This, in turn, produced an irritated look from Jenrya.

"I wasn't finished," Yamaki said. "As Jenrya and Ruki are more experienced, you'll accompany them. Takato and Impmon, you two will go with Ruki and Renamon. Jenrya, make sure to keep your sister out of trouble this time."

Jenrya's aggravation was obviously growing, but he nodded all the same. "Yes sir."

"Local law enforcement will be notified to be on the look out for Hoshi Hikaru," Yamaki stated. "But they'll know nothing more than that. Any information about what he appears to be does not leave this building. We don't want to incite any more trouble than we already have." He looked over the small assemblage of people one last time. "Then so long as we're clear on everything... lets get moving."

* * *

Jenrya was annoyed. To Takato, that much was very apparent as the four Tamers walked with their digimon away from the government building, heading through the nearby park. The blue-haired teenager looked altogether very tense, and was showing an awful lot of self control not to show his anger beyond that.

It had been relatively quiet among them since leaving the Hypnos chamber. Takato, for one, was glad for that. He didn't really want his mistakes brought up and rubbed in his face again.

"So," Ruki said, finally stopping and crossing her arms. Everyone else stopped as well, each Tamer and digimon looking to her. She eyed Jenrya specifically. "Which area are you guys going to cover?"

Jenrya looked around uneasily, and then gave an exasperated sigh. "Ruki, from everything Takato and Shuichon told me about this kid... about everything that happened... Don't you think there's something wrong here?"

Ruki's eyes narrowed a tad. "I'd say a renegade Tamer is very much 'something wrong.' But that's not what you're saying, is it?" Jenrya just silently shook his head. "So what, then? It seems pretty clear cut to me that we have to find this kid."

"And do _what_ exactly?" Jenrya questioned. The way he said that, however... it was like he was both dreading and knowing what the answer would be at the same time.

"Easy," the redhead said plainly. "If he shows he's truly hostile, we'll do the exact same thing to the Wild Ones."

"R-Ruki-san," Shuichon spoke up softly. "We... we can't just _kill_ him!"

"And how is that any different from all of my kind we have killed?" Renamon asked.

The way she asked it was so simple, so casual, that it made Takato shiver. That they were standing around talking about the death of another as if it was nothing certainly bothered him. Especially after everything he'd seen.

"Ruki, there's, um, something else," Takato said. This caught the girl's attention, which shifted right to him. All that served to do was make him even _more_ uncomfortable. It was as if her eyes were drilling straight through him. "Something I didn't mention back with Yamaki-san..."

"And why not, exactly?" Ruki asked.

"Because, all Yamaki-san seemed to care about when we told him everything else was that there was another Tamer," Takato said. "That there was one who may pose some sort of danger. Either way, it wouldn't change the fact we have to find him. I just... didn't think he would care about any of the other details."

"Fine then," Ruki replied, the stern tone of her voice unwavering. "Spill it."

"Before he saw DarkLizamon and Impmon," Takato said, "there was something about what he said to me... He seemed to think it was me who hurt his sister. But, we all know it was Evilmon."

"So, he's crazy," Ruki said. "That just makes him even worse."

"She has a point there, bucko," Impmon noted.

Takato groaned in frustration. "No! No, that's not right. There was something about the way he looked, the way he reacted... to both that situation, and Evilmon too! He was scared to death of Evilmon! He _didn't_ want to pull out that D-Ark!"

"Well then, that still doesn't change what we have to do, does it?" Ruki asked. "We still have to-"

All of a sudden, Ruki froze, her entire body becoming taut. Renamon too, tensed up. "You feel it?"

Ruki nodded. "Yes. It's been masking itself for awhile now... it's just taken me awhile to fully tune into it."

"'Tune into it?'" Terriermon asked. "What are you? A radio dial?"

"And 'tune into' what, pray tell?" Lopmon added.

"Your senses aren't quite as sensitive as Renamon's or mine," Ruki said. She seemed suddenly agitated, gritting her teeth. "When we fought IceDevimon, I felt the presence of a black energy. And I saw the source when you all were escaping... that blonde girl and the black dog."

Takato's face lost a good deal of color, and Impmon opened his mouth to say something... only to be silenced as Takato gave him a slight kick. The small demon glared as his Tamer, but it seemed that no one else noticed him doing that.

"I've felt traces of it here and there," Ruki said, "during battles. At the Nightmare Field, and at the start of our fight with DarkLizamon. But when it seems she's not extensively using her power - as she was with IceDevimon - she somehow masks their signatures so that I can't detect them. Both Renamon and I have been trying to concentrate hard to track down that sense for days... and we just now found it. We're not alone, people. Someone's watching."

Takato just stared at Ruki. Not only did he realize he was about to have a lot to explain, but he was also trying to grasp just HOW she could sense things like that. It didn't seem to make any real rational sense... but then, not much did lately.

"Renamon, quick, before it disappears again-" Ruki began, but as she did, all of the digimon stiffened up in unison, as did she. Takato could swear he saw her shiver a bit before turning, and sure enough, standing further down the walkway was Alice and Dobermon.

"There will be no need for that," Alice said softly, hands held behind her back. "We shouldn't rush to something that would end in a pointless battle. I knew it would only be so long until you fully detected me, Seeing Tamer Makino Ruki."

"Y-you," Ruki stammered. "How do you know who I am?"

"It would not suit me well to not know who the Legendary Tamers are," Alice said. She then smiled slightly, looking to Takato. "Hello again, Matsuda-kun."

All eyes quickly turned to Takato. Ruki's, in particular, had a sudden spark of what looked to possibly be anger. "_Excuse_ me? You know this girl, Takato?"

"Well, um, err-" Takato stuttered, unable to come up with a cohesive response on the spot. Instead, he opted to wave his hands in front of him defensively. "Just, uh-"

"In actuality, I just transferred into Takato's class this week," Alice said.

Ruki's eyes narrowed, taking a step towards Takato. "And why, exactly, haven't you told us about her?" the girl asked with a slight growl in her voice.

Yeah, Takato realized, that look was definitely one of anger.

"Ruki, just listen-!" Takato said. He didn't know what she should listen _to_, though, as he didn't happen to have an excuse handy.

"Do not be so harsh on him," Alice said. "I'm afraid that the Digital Field appeared before Matsuda-kun had any chance to question me on why I appeared in his class." This part was true, Takato knew. "I was busy trying to defend myself afterwards, and I had no other contact with Matsuda-kun beyond that." That, on the other hand, was not. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind, he was very thankful to this girl for lying as she was.

"Is all that true?" Ruki asked Takato, and the teenage boy suddenly realized he was sort of shaking, fearful of the redhead's wrath. So, he tried to calm himself and nodded meekly.

"Y-yeah," Takato said. "It's just, a lot happened today, and by the time I saw all you guys... it's just been kinda chaotic, y'know?"

Ruki stared at the boy for another long moment, and then turned to face Alice again. "Okay, fine then. But what's _your_ deal? Just who are you, and why are you stalking us?"

"I-it's Alice, right?" Shuichon said.

"Indeed," Alice nodded. "That is correct."

"You... you called yourself something when we fought IceDevimon," Shuichon said. "Like what you just called Ruki-san... what's a 'Death Tamer?'"

"That is merely what I am," Alice said matter-of-factly. "Just as the Seeing Tamer is what Makino-san is. That is merely what we are called, by the merit of our power."

"Gee, that sounds wholesome," Terriermon said.

"Still haven't answered my question," Ruki said, obviously growing impatient.

Alice closed her eyes, bowing her head. "I merely exist here to protect one of your number. That is all. I do not wish to come into conflict with you, but I also do not wish to be associated with the organization you answer to. They are more of a danger, more of a hindrance to the peace of the Digital World than you could imagine. However, it is not my place to criticize that. It is your prerogative and yours alone in regards to who you follow."

Ruki stared at the blonde for a long time, studying her. Finally, she gave a half-hearted sigh and seemed to relax a bit. Only a bit, though, as she was still very obviously on guard around this girl. "Okay, you don't trust Big Brother watching over you. I get that. But why should we trust you, in turn? And who are you supposed to be 'protecting?'"

"I never asked you to trust me, Makino-san," Alice said, reopening her eyes slightly. "As to who I protect... ask yourself who among your group warrants such protection, and I believe you can find your own answer."

"...okay. Fine," Ruki said, which surprised Takato. That she seemed to be taking this so well really took him off guard. There was something else going on here, but he just couldn't figure out what. Obviously, Takato knew Alice had said she was there to protect _him_. Did Ruki know that, or was she just bluffing? And if she _did_... how, and why? He didn't even know why Alice was protecting him in the first place. What could Ruki know about him that even he didn't?

"Then two more questions," Ruki went on. "Who sent you? And do you know anything about this Tamer partnered to an Evilmon?"

"I do merely what I know must be done," Alice said. "Whether or not I was sent by anyone is irrelevant. It doesn't change the fact that I am not hindering you. As for the Tamer you speak of... I am afraid not. Is that all?"

Ruki seemed to consider that question for a second, and then nodded. "For now, yeah."

"And will you tell your government comrades of my presence?" Alice asked.

"You asking that makes me wonder what you've done wrong," Ruki said.

"I only believe that would make my goal more difficult," the blonde said simply. "I quite like my freedom as it is, Makino-san. And that goal - to protect that one, precious life - is something that would be difficult without that freedom. Surely, you understand that, Seeing Tamer."

Ruki frowned. "I don't think I like you very much. For now, however... we _do_ have bigger fish to fry."

"Then - for now - I thank you, Makino-san," Alice said, bowing.

"Hey kid," Impmon said in a low voice. "Your face is red."

Takato blinked hard and scratched the back of his head. "Its, um, nothing," Takato murmured. That was a total lie, of course. To hear Alice talking about his life as something precious was something that consistently gave him a rather strange feeling.

Alice looked back up at all of them. "For what it is worth, though I know nothing of this Tamer you seek, I can assist you at the moment if it is necessary."

"Mm, whatever," Ruki said dismissively, waving a hand. She turned back to the others. "Like I said, we have bigger fish at the moment. And we need a game plan if we're going to get anywhere."

"And if we do find this kid," Jenrya began.

"...we'll see what he does first, alright?" Ruki said. "I'm sure you're not expecting me to say anything more than that."

"Regardless," Lopmon said. "We cannot hope to merely search blindly and pray that we find this child."

"Looking for just one person in Tokyo is like looking for a needle in a haystack," Shuichon noted.

Silence hung over them ever so briefly, until the digimon again seemed to sense something. Ruki's expression hardened, a look of annoyance etched on her face. "Oh, for crying out loud..."

"What's going on?" Takato asked, feeling more than a little clueless. Again.

Impmon responded with a growl. "Oh, don't act like an idiot kid. It's another freakin' digimon!"

Ruki shook her head again. "No, you're wrong."

Impmon's green eyes shoot a glare in her direction. "Listen here, girly-!"

"Your senses certainly are lacking... something," Renamon stated.

Impmon's angry gaze shifted to her. "_Excuse_ me?"

"It's not _another_ digimon," Renamon said. "Considering you fought him, I thought you would know."

"It's Evilmon," Lopmon said, staring off into the distance. That must have been, Takato figured, the direction the digimon had appeared in, which was pretty much the complete opposite of where he had been earlier that day. "There's no doubt about it. His aura is... distinct."

Ruki, too, was now looking that way along with the rest. "Problem is... I can see his power, but not the power of a Tamer with him. Something really _isn't_ right with all this, it seems."

"See? We told you so," Terriermon grumbled. Ruki twitched a bit, but otherwise ignored the bunny-dog.

"This definitely changes what Yamaki wanted us to do, then," Ruki said, already starting to walk. "Lets go."

"Alright!" Impmon grinned. "Time to pay that little bastard back-"

Ruki stopped, not even bothering to look back at them. "Not you two. Or Shuichon and Lopmon."

"Hey, who died and made you boss?" Terriermon said.

"Just because we lost-" Shuichon began, stopping as Ruki glanced back at them. The look on her face was, to say the least, intimidating, and Shuichon almost looked like she wanted to shrink away in the face of it.

"You lost," Ruki said. Her tone was calm, but with a hint of annoyance as well. "Neither of you gained anything in your battles today, and were defeated. Going up against the opponent who defeated you with no time to recover isn't going to be anything more than a liability to us."

"_Ruki,_" Jenrya said sharply, starting to step towards her.

"Don't even start with me," the redhead responded. "I seriously doubt you want your little sister even involved in this fight. You know that they'd be much better off just going home right now. So unless you trust me to handle this on my own, Lee, we need to get going." Without waiting for a reply, she then glared at Alice. "And you. I hope you realize just how convenient all this seems."

"I am not blind," Alice said. "Nor am I at fault."

Ruki just started to walk again. "We'll settle this later," she said as she passed the blonde, and then went into a full run.

Jenrya sighed. "I'm sorry about all that, guys..."

Takato gave a half-hearted smile. To tell the truth, he wasn't looking forward to fighting Evilmon again, anyway. "Don't worry about it, Jen." Impmon just huffed and muttered obscenities under his breath.

"Jen-niichan," Shuichon mumbled, grabbing her brother's jacket sleeve. Jenrya smiled back at her, but pushed her hand away.

"Shuichon, much as I don't want to admit it," Jenrya said. "Ruki has a point. You guys would be in more danger right now if you went right after this thing."

"But... you and Terriermon... if you got hurt and I wasn't there..." she trailed off, and he patted her on the head.

"We'll be fine. We're not fighting this alone, after all," Jenrya said, and then grinned wider. "Moumantai."

"Yeah, what he said!" Terriermon added.

Jenrya then turned and began to run after Ruki. "Just don't worry, Shuichon!" he shouted back. "We'll take care of everything!"

As Jenrya disappeared from their sight, into the shadows that were starting to grow with the setting sun, Shuichon gave a deep sigh. Takato gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it'll all turn out okay, Shuichon-chan," he said. "Jen and Ruki are much more experienced at this than us."

"I guess so," Shuichon frowned, still looking where she had last seen her brother.

"Come on, Shuichon," Lopmon said softly. "It _has_ been a long day, after all. Maybe we should just head home so you can get some rest for awhile... and your parents might get worried if you're out much later."

Shuichon cast a brief glance to Alice, and then to Takato. "You'll be alright, Takato-san?"

Takato forced a laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Of course! Just... take care of yourself, alright, Shuichon-chan?"

Shuichon gave a sudden smile which, after how she had just looked, was a little surprising. "Sure! Right!" As she turned to head off, she waved back at him. "Have a good night, Takato-san!"

"...told ya she was strange," Impmon muttered as soon as Shuichon out of earshot.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be nice?" Takato exclaimed, almost pleading.

"So then," Alice spoke back up, stepping towards the young man. "How long will it be until you head after your friends, Makino-san and Lee-san?"

Takato expression went a bit blank, and he then laughed nervously. "Uh, what do you mean?"

As she neared him, Takato could feel his pulse speed up a bit, remembering what she did the last time she was close to him. "I have seen how you are about your friends, Matsuda-kun," she said, stopping only a foot away from him. He gulped, feeling his cheeks burning as her eyes locked with his. "If there is a chance that they will be in danger, you surely will want to help them. Correct?"

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right," he stuttered.

"Alright!" Impmon grinned, pumping a fist in the air. "I'm starting to like this girl, kid!"

"So, Matsuda-kun," Alice said, reaching down and grabbing his hand. Her touch felt slightly cool, but soft, and he felt a slight chill go through him. Which, he noted mentally, wasn't really a _bad_ thing. "Shall we go?"

It took a second for Takato to realize he was busy staring at her face and hadn't replied, and then nodded quickly. "Right, right... lets go."

* * *

"Yamaki-shitsuchou!" Reika shouted. The man wasted little time in getting up behind the two operators to view what was happening. "There's... _something_ happening, but it's not a Realization. The signal's one we've seen before, though..."

_Click._

With the sound of Yamaki's lighter closing, Reika quickly knew she didn't have to say anything more. "It's exactly what we're looking for."

"Ruki and Jenrya-kun are already on the move," Reika said. "As is Takato-kun. But, Shuichon-chan..."

"That's for the best," Yamaki said, and narrowed his eyes as he viewed the information. "Something about this whole set-up is strange, however. It's too sudden."

"Sir!" Megumi shouted, slamming a phone down on the console she sat at. "Something's happened at the hospital Hoshi Yumi's at! There was... well, a little over two hours ago, a patient turned up missing. Someone who's been hurt recently in a digimon attack..."

"It's not the girl, is it?" Yamaki asked. "And why were we not informed of this sooner?

"No sir, and I don't know, the investigating police must not have known the significance," Megumi said with a shake of her head. "It's someone entirely different... it's the boy that Impmon attacked, Katoki Yosuke."

* * *

"Cheer up, Shuichon," Lopmon said, riding on his Tamer's shoulder as they walked home.

The girl shoved her hands into her jacket as the cold started to set in with the day's sunlight nearly gone. Her expression was in stark contrast to when she had left Takato; if anything she had acted like that so he wouldn't worry about her.

She blushed a bit at that thought. She would really _like_ to think he worried about her, at least...

"Shuichon?"

The girl glanced at her partner and smiled lightly. "Sorry, Lopmon. Just thinking a bit. I'm just a little mad about today, I guess..."

"I have learned that you cannot expect to win every battle," Lopmon said. "That you can escape from a fight against an opponent of greater power with your life intact is worth as much as victory. I know of those who would not agree with me, but if you cannot come from a battle without anything accomplished - even if it is just your survival - there was no point in fighting in the first place. Unfortunately, in life, you will be forced to fight _many_ pointless battles."

Shuichon giggled. "You're so different from the others, Lopmon. Someone like Impmon would just be like..." She stopped in the middle of the small city pathway, which was currently devoid of anyone besides them, pumping a fist into the air and making her voice a bit scratchier. "'I just can't wait to see that guy's face again so I can pound it in!' Or maybe Renamon," Shuichon crossed her arms, sticking her nose up in the air as she deepened her voice. "'I'd never lose in the first place.'"

Lopmon laughed at his Tamer's impressions. "Well, at least you're in a better mood than I thought..."

Shuichon dropped her hands and sighed a bit. "I just wish... If I had been a better Tamer, maybe we wouldn't have lost. Maybe I could have done something then... or against IceDevimon."

"I believe that you are doing fine, Shuichon," Lopmon said. "I do not think there was anything more we could have really done against either opponent, to tell the truth. The strength your brother has will come in time."

Shuichon smiled at him. "I suppose so... thanks, Lopmon."

"You two have _no_ idea how glad I am to here your little runt say that!"

Shuichon's vision jerked straight ahead of her, where further down the path, there now stood a young man. But there was something very striking, and almost frightening about him as the darkness started to set in more. He wore relatively normal clothes but his entire head, his hands, and his arms were all wrapped in white bandages. Bits of black hair poked out from the bandages on the top of his head, and his mouth was uncovered. His lips being the only skin she could really see, she could see he looked to be burned pretty badly... which thus explained all the wrapping around him.

He just grinned at her, and as he did so, Shuichon noticed the temperature seemed to be dropping even more suddenly than it should have. "Who are you...?" Shuichon asked, caution in her voice.

The young man just sort of chuckled, flexing his hand and looking at it. "It's strange, y'know? This should hurt like hell, these burns. And don't get me wrong, they do. Just not as much as they should... you get me? Am I making any sense here?"

Shuichon wanted to say "no" but just let him continue.

"But see," he pointed to his head, "I've been havin' these weird dreams. This voice has been telling me stuff. Nurses think I'm nuts. But I could give a shit, right? 'Cause I know it's right. Dunno how... but I just do. And y'know what, on top of that? I got a new friend out of the whole deal. He's really awesome. He told me he's met you, in fact, Shuichon-chan!"

Shuichon's eyes widened and she started to walk backwards, hoping to put some distance between her and this guy. He wasn't even all that close to her, but he was definitely creeping her out. To add to that, how did he know who she was?

"So, lets you and him get re-acquainted, eh?" the bandaged boy asked, reaching inside his coat pocket. What he retrieved made Shuichon stop cold in her tracks... a light-blue D-Ark.

"You... you're a Tamer?" Shuichon exclaimed.

"Seems so, doesn't it?" he asked, grinning. "Draw Field." As the bubble of energy popped out around him, something white dropped down in front of him. It was tall and humanoid, with blood red eyes.

Laying eyes upon this, Shuichon felt a very familiar fear. A fear that was amplified by the fact that it was just her and Lopmon there.

"IceDevimon!" she gasped, and the fallen angel smiled.

"You seem surprised to see me, my dear child," IceDevimon said. "Tell me, has Ruki spoken of me?"

"Renamon- no, Youkomon killed you!" Lopmon shouted.

"Did she now?" IceDevimon questioned.

"Funny, that's news to me!" the bandaged boy exclaimed. "Now, are we gonna do this the hard way or the easy way?"

"Shuichon," Lopmon whispered, "they are not going to let us merely run. IceDevimon is too fast and too powerful for that to happen."

"But- but, how is he..."

"We cannot worry about that now!" Lopmon insisted. "There is no option other than to fight!"

Shuichon gulped hard. "Ri-right. DRAW FIELD!"

Lopmon leapt away from his Tamer, landing before IceDevimon as Shuichon's force field appeared to protect her. "I've never evolved you twice in one day, though," Shuichon mumbled.

"You can do it, Shuichon!" Lopmon said. "Merely believe in your strength! Remember, your strength is that of your will!"

"Ri-right," Shuichon stammered, and then held out her hand, concentrating. It took longer than usual, but a pink ball of light appeared in her hand. "Okay! PSI-LINK! EVOLUTION!"

"Lopmon, evolve! WENDIMON!"

IceDevimon and his Tamer were unfazed as the beast digimon landed, shaking the ground around him. The young man just laughed. "Well, isn't that sweet and nice and happy for you two to be so close?"

"Wendimon, hold him off!" Shuichon said, pulling out her cell phone. "I'll call Jen-niichan!"

"Now, now," the bandaged boy said, waving a finger. "That's not playing fair." A Psi Card materialized in his hand, and he immediately brought it to his D-Ark. "Psi Card Slash! THUNDER FUSION LEVEL-TWO!"

Before Shuichon could even fully get the phone out of her pocket, and before Wendimon could react, IceDevimon dashed at the other digimon with frightening speed. He thrust his claw out, electricity crackling at his fingertips. "THUNDER CLAW!"

Wendimon held up his forearms to block, but it didn't stop the intent of the attack. Electricity surged through Wendimon's body... and Shuichon, as well, screamed as a jolt went through her body. She fell back, dropping the phone and rubbing her head.

The girl looked at her phone to see that it was now completely dead. Somehow or another, that jolt seemed to have completely fried the device. "H-how..." Shuichon murmured. "You can't have been a Tamer for long... how did you get a card like that..."

"All the data that IceDevimon had loaded," Wendimon grunted, knocking IceDevimon back and away from him. "All those digimon he massacred..."

Shuichon's eyes widened at the realization. When Lopmon had become her partner, his basic elements were automatically apart of her Psi Cards. With the countless digimon whose data IceDevimon had loaded...

"But lightning has so much heat in it," Shuichon muttered, pulling herself to her feet. "That should have hurt _him_ too!"

"A smart child, I see," IceDevimon said, and then shook his head. "You see, with all the power I've gained over time... I am afraid I have overcome certain disadvantages."

"We'll see about that," Wendimon snarled. "Shuichon!"

"Right!" Shuichon cried, summoning a card of her own. "Psi Card Slash! ALLOMON!"

Wendimon pushed himself off the ground with his powerful arms and legs, soaring into the air. Rearing back, he then spewed out a large torrent of flames from his mouth. "DINO BURST!"

"ZERO FREEZE!" IceDevimon cried, launching beams of energy from his eyes. The beams struck the flames head on, soon pushing past and just plain cutting straight through them. Wendimon was lucky that gravity took over and let him fall back to the ground, otherwise he would have wound up as an oversized ice cube.

Shuichon was much weaker than she was earlier in the day, she knew. She had to mentally struggle to do everything - her Draw Field, evolving Lopmon, and her cards all took great strain. She knew that if her Field was hit with a direct attack, it would be done for, and her cards had nowhere near the strength they should have had.

They had to find a way to escape. It was like Lopmon had said earlier, it was worth just as much as a victory to escape with their lives. And if they died, there would be no point at all... The only problem with that was, of course, how to actually go about _doing_ that against an opponent like IceDevimon.

"Wendimon," the girl said as softly as possible, hoping that their opponents wouldn't hear her, "if I increased your speed, could we run...?"

"Maybe," Wendimon said, "but... I still don't believe we can escape them like that."

"...can we win?"

Wendimon grimaced. "...we both lost more strength in today's battles than I believed. No. Not as we are right now, Shuichon, we can't..."

Shuichon looked back up at the bandaged boy and IceDevimon. "Then that just leaves..." She summoned a Psi Card, and as he saw her do it, the young man did the same.

"Psi Card Slash!" both Tamers yelled. "SPEED BOOSTER!"

"What... NO!" Shuichon shouted, realizing that they had both used the same card. What was an escape plan then became a battle that moved so fast she couldn't even see it as their digimon disappeared from sight for the moment.

This didn't last long, though, as she soon saw Wendimon reappear, barely dodging a white blur. He was still moving fast, but seemed to be progressively slowing down, and was stuck defending himself. Every moment, the blur came closer to striking him as he valiantly tried to keep dodging it... until, finally, IceDevimon hit Wendimon brutally hard.

The beast digimon flew back, colliding with Shuichon's Draw Field. Combined with that, Shuichon herself fell back to the ground, holding her gut as immense pain surged from that area. Wincing to look up, she found her Draw Field had collapsed and Wendimon was on his knees in front of her.

Before she could react, the white blur came back, slamming into Wendimon and knocking him right into the nearest wall. Shuichon felt intense pains in her arm and head... and she could swear she felt something break in her right arm. But it didn't end there, as IceDevimon finally stopped before Wendimon as the other digimon slumped against the wall. Then, with his Speed Booster obviously still in effect, he began to pummel Wendimon relentlessly with his fists, who was effectively pinned against the wall.

There was nothing left Shuichon could do. The level of pain being transmitted to her body was like nothing she had ever felt before. She couldn't even move, as she too felt like she was being hit by punch after punch. The girl fell back, blood trickling from her mouth as the assault on her digimon continued.

This thing... this _creature_ was the very same one that had beaten her brother and Galgomon. After everything she had done that day - after the battle she had already _lost_... she couldn't have truly hoped to defeat him, could she? If her brother couldn't...

Finally, IceDevimon stopped, backing away from Wendimon. With one painful groan, the beast digimon glowed and shrunk back down to the diminutive form of Lopmon. Shuichon, meanwhile, could only lie there writhing in pain, trying desperately to hang onto consciousness.

Soon enough, the bandaged boy was standing over her, and he knelt down. "So, can I get you to do me a favor?" he asked. She could barely see his face now, and couldn't make out his expression, as her vision was blurred with tears and she could feel herself starting to black out. "If you see Matsuda before I do... tell him Katoki Yosuke said 'hi.'"

And that was the last thing Shuichon heard or saw before her world fell into darkness.

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Boy, I like to put the Lee family through hell, don't I? But you have NO idea how long I've been planning the last scene in this story. Ever since Realization 01, this is something I've been steadily building up and building towards. So it's been my intent from the beginning, and I hope it came off well enough.

It's not really my intent to make Shuichon & Lopmon seem weak, and I hope I indicated well enough that the previous fights in the day didn't help matters for them. Plus, you take how strong IceDevimon was portrayed to be earlier, and combine it with some Card-powered boosts... and naturally, they're going to be in trouble.

So how the hell did IceDevimon rise from the dead? How does Yosuke know what on Earth he's doing? ...you'll see.

* * *

_"The Tamers race to face Evilmon, unaware that comrades have already fallen in battle against foes both new and old. As they find themselves one step closer to figuring out just what is going on, Jenrya will discover just what anger can do to a Tamer..."  
**Next: Realization 16- "Brother and Sister"**_


	17. Realization 16: Brother and Sister

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Pairing Types:** Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

"This... this isn't right!" Megumi shouted, typing furiously at her console. Her eyes were narrowed, a mixed feeling of confusion and self-disgust running through her. She would think what she was viewing _had_ to be wrong, yet it wasn't in the least.

"What is it now?" Yamaki questioned, lowering the phone he held with an obvious tone of annoyance. He had been talking with the hospital over the disappearance of Katoki Yosuke, and after the long day thus far, obviously wasn't in the mood to deal with any other hassles.

"Shuichon-chan!" Megumi said. "From these readings, there's a spike in Lopmon's signal... it looks like he just evolved!"

"What?" Yamaki asked, one eyebrow up inquisitively. "What the hell is she fighting? She shouldn't even be with the others right now."

"She's not," the blonde woman said, biting one lip. "But for some reason I can't lock down the signal of what she's fighting, and I don't know why... There's something there, I just can't tell _what._"

"Reika-" Yamaki began, but stopped from the sound of Reika typing furiously.

"Already on it," she said, "I'm linking our terminals and sharing our data streams. Megumi, start cross-referencing everything I'm sending you against our archive."

"Roger," Megumi said quickly, setting to her work and trying to keep anything but that from her mind. That wasn't easy, as worry also filled her. It seemed like they were being lead along, somehow, by _something_... and for someone as young as Shuichon to be stuck against some unknown force without any of the older Tamers...

Then, just as soon as this new crisis had begun... it was over. Lopmon's signal dropped, and became even weaker than it had been before. Any sign of their mystery opponent vanished without a trace. While, on the other hand, everything Lopmon's signal gave off seemed to be struggling to stay intact.

Knowing fully of how a Tamer was connected to their digimon, all three knew that whatever happened to Lopmon was transferred onto Shuichon. Which meant...

"Shuichon-chan," Megumi murmured, wide-eyed at the limited readings she was getting from the Digimon. She spun around to Yamaki, already finding him heading away from them and towards the chamber's exit.

"Reika, take my call!" the man commanded. "I'm heading over there myself."

"Right," Reika said, reaching for the phone Yamaki had set down. "Megumi, make sure to record and back-up all data from that so we can go over it again..." There was a brief period of silence. "Megumi?"

The blonde blinked, before almost unconsciously resuming her work. "Right... it's just... if something happened to her... she's just a girl..."

The older woman sighed a bit. "I know, just... we have to do our work now. We don't know what really happened..."

Megumi just nodded mutely. That somehow didn't make her feel much better...

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Phase-One: Rising Shadow  
Realization 16- "Brother and Sister"  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Darkness. Pure black of the darkest possible pitch. That's what Lee Jenrya, Makino Ruki, and their Partner Digimon saw as they arrived at a playground now covered in the unmistakable fog of Evilmon's Nightmare Field.

"So, what do we do?" Terriermon asked, perched on Jenrya's shoulder. "Just dive right in?"

"Don't be stupid," Ruki said, her voice stiff. "This is all just too..." she trailed off, and finally gave a growl of frustration. "We keep following the appearances of these Wild Ones, and keep getting led in circles. He wanted us to come here, this time. And I want to know exactly _why_..."

The redhead closed her eyes, trying at the same time to see further. To see beyond the barrier. To see the true power beyond this darkness...

Her eyes snapped back open, looking sharply to Renamon. "The tree limb right above us. Aim straight ahead."

Without a moment's hesitation, Renamon leapt right up onto the large tree limb that was above their heads. Upon landing there, she crossed her arms, glowing leaves appearing before her. "FOX LEAF ARROWHEAD!" she cried, launching the leaves forward and into the Nightmare Field.

Moments later, there was the sound of an explosion - the leaves hitting their target - and Evilmon came flying out of the Field, colliding with a nearby tree trunk. As the miniature demon slumped down against that tree, his Digital Field began to fluctuate before collapsing.

Or, _almost_ completely. A thin, black fog still remained... encircling a boy who sat on a swing, seemingly blind to the events around him. In one hand, as well, rested a D-Ark, which he was staring at with a blank, dark look in his eyes.

"Just what are you?" Ruki sneered, stepping across the playground. Renamon dropped back down and joined her, while Jenrya followed behind the young woman.

"Gigigii," Evilmon laughed, though found obvious pain in doing so, as he rose back into the air. "I don't know what you mean. No, no... I don't, I don't!"

Ruki looked over at the boy, at Hoshi Hikaru, and the dark fog that surrounded him. "What are you doing to him?"

Evilmon giggled again. "You mean, you mean... you can't _tell_, Seeing Tamer? You can't _see_?"

Ruki grimaced. It was true. She couldn't sense anything beyond the fog around the boy... but why? For that matter, this Evilmon seemed to be able to hide his presence from her at other times. It was almost like he wanted to wave it right in front of her that he could block her senses.

The girl blinked for a moment, and then a realization hit her. He could hide from her senses with apparent ease, and there were no civilians anywhere nearby. It was just the six of them there. If Evilmon had wanted to block her from detecting him within the Nightmare Field, he _could_ have... but why didn't he?

"This is all a distraction!" Ruki growled loudly. "What are you playing at, you little flying rat?"

"Oh, you'd like to know that," Evilmon said giddily. "You would, you would! I just hope dear, sweet little Shuichon-chan can defend herself without her 'Jen-niichan' to defend her..."

A look of utter horror washed over both Jenrya and Terriermon's faces. Without a single word from either of them, Jenrya turned around and went running back in the direction he had come from. Cackling, Evilmon extended one clawed hand.

"GIHEHE! I can't let you do that yet, Guard Tamer!"

Black fog appeared on the ground in front of Jenrya, and rising up from it came two Bakemon. Jenrya came to a sudden stop, glaring back at Evilmon. "If anything happens to my sister, I swear..."

"We'll tear you to pieces!" Terriermon snapped.

"Gigi, I'm sorry," Evilmon said grinning. "I can't take credit. Nope, nope. It's all thanks to a friend of mine... yep, yep! The Beast Tamer will suffer... as will you, Guard and Seeing Tamers. You will _all_ suffer, and once my Tamer is prepared, I'll be quite glad to put each and every one of you out of your misery!"

"You bastard," Jenrya snarled, as both he and Ruki reached for their D-Arks.

"SCHWARZ STRAHL!"

"SUMMON FLAME!"

A black beam and fireball each cut straight through both of the Bakemon, deleting them almost instantaneously. Jenrya, Ruki, and their partners looked to find Takato, Impmon, Alice, and Dobermon.

"Shadow and Death," Evilmon said, his tone suddenly serious and calm. "How fitting."

"I thought I told you to go home," Ruki said, though she was more amused than annoyed at this point.

"I, uh, guess I don't listen very well," Takato said, grinning sheepishly.

"Hmph, no matter," Evilmon muttered, and then his expression turned sadistically gleeful again. "I'm always up for playing a little game! That I am, I am!"

All around them, patches of the black fog appeared on the ground, and several Bakemon rose up from each of them. At the sight of this, Impmon just grinned, igniting a fireball on one fingertip. "Oh, yeah. This is _just_ what I was looking for..."

"Jen, go," Takato said. "Make sure that Shuichon-chan's okay."

Jenrya blinked, and then nodded, running past Takato and Alice. "Right! Thanks!"

"Takato!" Ruki suddenly shouted as she turned back to face Evilmon again. "You and your girlfriend need to handle the Bakemon. This little freak is ours."

"Me and my _what?_" Takato replied, his cheeks burning red.

"Just do it, will you?" Ruki said, summoning a Psi Card to her hand.

"Gihehehe," Evilmon laughed. "You honestly think you have what it takes, Ruki-chan?"

That term prompted an irritable twitch from the redhead. "I think you should ask yourself the same question."

"Heh! I once had someone ask me that question before, that I did," Evilmon chuckled. "She and the other kid were the first ones I killed."

"I can't say I understand what you're talking about," Renamon stated, stepping forward. "But I frankly don't care. Ruki?"

"Right!" she cried. "Psi Card Slash! STRENGTH BOOSTER!"

The sounds of Impmon and Dobermon fighting the Bakemon raged behind the pair, but they blocked that out as best they could. If nothing else, she knew they had to be capable of taking those things out... they were just a distraction. Just like this whole confrontation in general...

Renamon lunged for their demonic opponent, punching and kicking at him rapidly. He was able to dodge each blow, though, cackling all the way. He was fast. Agile. Something Ruki should have realized, given his small size... what she wasn't expecting, however, was him striking back amidst all of that, and actually hitting Renamon in her shoulder with his fist. She didn't expect him to be able to nail a hit on her so easily, nor did she expect the sheer _force_ of it, as it sent Renamon flying back. The fox landed gracefully all the same, of course, but Ruki grimaced at the same time, feeling the pain running through her own shoulder.

This Evilmon was obviously powerful. Too powerful, in fact, for the kind of Digimon that he was. His type was most often seen as a pathetic mistake. It was a "wrong" course on the demonic evolution track, more akin to the likes of Numemon or Sukamon. _This_ Evilmon, however, was a Field Controller. He could hide from detection. He could call on and command Bakemon at will... and there was no telling where _they_ were even coming from. Then, there was his strength... completely unreal for a Digimon of his stature.

"I asked you before," Ruki said. "What are you?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Evilmon asked, feigning innocence. "I'm a Tamer's Digimon, of course!"

"Oh, really now?" Ruki asked. "Then drop that fog around the Hoshi boy! Let me see what kind of 'power' he has!"

"Now why would I do that?" he asked.

Renamon's blue eyes narrowed. "While it's certainly possible you want to hide his level of Psi-energy from us... I don't believe that's the case here."

"Exactly," Ruki nodded. "You need to block our sensing him for some reason... and I don't think that's it. You don't want us to sense him and be able to tell he doesn't give off a Tamer's energy signature!"

"Gigi, really?" Evilmon asked, scratching his head. "Then why ever, oh why, does he have a D-Ark with him?"

"Never said you weren't a Tamer's Digimon," Ruki said, and then paused, blinking. She looked behind her to see that it had actually gotten rather quiet. No more Bakemon remained, and Takato and Impmon were proceeding to give each other a high-five. She looked back to Evilmon. "But I'm betting now that D-Ark isn't his. You need this boy for some reason... but it's not as a Tamer."

"Aww, you really think I'd _lie_ to you?" Evilmon asked, and then frowned. "Fine, I'll get rid of that fog, if you'd like... but that's just 'cause I'm nice! Yep!"

Ruki gave a look over to the swing set where Hikaru sat, and as the fog vanished... so did he. His presence there was nothing more than an illusion. "What the..." the girl began, but was cut off as Evilmon cackled. "Hah! NIGHTMARE SHOCK!"

The blast launched from Evilmon's maw, and right for Ruki. Renamon quickly leapt in front of the blast. It struck her dead on, knocking her back into Ruki, and making both collapse onto the ground. Though Ruki felt pain from the attack reflect back onto her, that would have _killed_ her if it had hit her instead of Renamon. She could hear Evilmon's cackle from far away, now, as the small beast had flown off.

"RUKI!" Takato shouted, running over to the pair with Impmon trailing behind him.

"We're fine," Renamon muttered, picking herself up and pulling Ruki with her. "But where is the so-called Death Tamer?"

The four looked around. Indeed, not only was Evilmon gone, but so were Alice and Dobermon.

"No time to worry about that now," Ruki said. "We need to get back."

Takato nodded back. "Yeah... I really hope that Shuichon-chan is okay..."

* * *

Later that night, Lee Shuichon lay in a hospital bed, completely unconscious as various machines monitored her life signs. Jenrya sat at her bedside, looking completely lost as tears threatened to spill from his gray eyes. Terriermon was in his lap, looking much like his Tamer in his expression. Takato stood behind the blue-haired Tamer, with Yamaki even further back against the wall.

"We only realized something was wrong when we detected Lopmon evolving," Yamaki stated. "There wasn't even enough time to contact any of you before the apparent battle had already finished. I went to the scene myself and found them..."

Ruki had stayed behind at the scene of the fight to see if she or Renamon could find any evidence of what happened. Impmon obviously couldn't sneak into a hospital very well, so he reluctantly stayed with them. Lopmon was at Hypnos for observation, as well. Jenrya knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that his parents were on their way, too, but that fact barely registered with him.

Just watching his sister there, totally still aside from her breathing, so obviously hurt, broke his heart. He should have been there... he should never have left her side. He could have defended her. He could have saved her. He had the power to take Terriermon to the Perfect-level. Without even understanding how he did it, he had even unlocked another stage of his Draw Field. He could fight _himself._ He could defend himself and everyone else... He was the Guard Tamer, and yet he had failed to protect one of the people he loved the most.

"Can you guys... leave us alone for a moment?" Jenrya asked, his voice cracking a bit.

Neither Yamaki nor Takato said anything, and both vacated the room. Jenrya sighed, burying his face in his hands.

"Jen, it's not your fault," Terriermon said. "You couldn't have known..."

"I still should have been there," Jenrya muttered. "_We_ should have been there. This wouldn't have happened if we had been..."

The young man reached out, brushing a strand of hair out of the girl's face. She seemed so peaceful, defiant of the fact she was hurt so badly. He didn't even want to _know_, really, just how badly she was hurt... he had heard the doctor give those details earlier, but was so dumbstruck then he couldn't even remember.

"I promise you, sis," he murmured, tears now flowing out of his eyes. "We're going to find out what hurt you. We're going to find them, and we'll stop them... I swear."

Behind him, he heard the door crack open, and Terriermon gave a small yelp, scampering over and into a backpack that lay on another nearby chair. The young man looked back, seeing his parents Janyuu and Mayumi enter. Both immediately rushed over, embracing their son, while Mayumi cried over her daughter's state at the same time.

To their surprise, however, Jenrya quickly broke away from them, stood up, and grabbed his backpack. Janyuu gave him and odd look, while Mayumi had already shifted her attention to Shuichon. "Jenrya..." Janyuu began, but his son cut him off with the wave of his hand.

"I'm fine, Dad," he said quietly. "I just... need to walk around a bit."

Thus, he left the room, finding that Yamaki and Takato hadn't gone very far. They stood on the other side of the hallway, and the blond man had obviously been waiting for him.

"So, what excuse did you give my mother so she wouldn't have to find out about what Dad and I are doing _this_ time?" Jenrya suddenly found himself asking without even thinking. To say he was angry at that time was an understatement, and he didn't really care what he was saying.

Yamaki expression was unreadable behind the blood red lenses of his sunglasses. "Don't talk to me like this was my fault. Remember your place-"

"You should have called me."

"It wouldn't have done any good," Yamaki said. "I told you, everything happened so fast that there was nothing anyone could have done."

"You spoke to her before like she was useless..." Jenrya muttered.

"If you have to be angry with someone, and if that someone must be me, then fine," Yamaki said calmly. "But that doesn't change the facts, which you're just as aware of as I am."

Jenrya stared at the man for a good few moments before turning away from him and punching the nearest wall. "DAMMIT! If I had just... If I was just..."

"You can ask yourself 'if' and 'why' all that you want," Yamaki said. "But again, that doesn't change what's already happened. All you can ever do is accept that... and try to make certain that it doesn't happen again."

Jenrya grit his teeth, pulling his fist away from the wall and rubbing his knuckles. But he didn't say anything. He _couldn't_ say anything.

Or else he would have to admit Yamaki was right.

A deadening silence fell over them, until the blaring sound of Yamaki's cell phone ringing cut in. The man in black promptly answered it, listening for a minute or so, and answering only briefly before hanging it up. "Reika and Megumi have detected another Digimon," he said. "But it's not a Realization. Apparently, with everything else that's Realized and appeared today, there was one other that eluded our detection up until now. What's more..." He paused for a moment, waiting until Jenrya had turned to look at him. "From the preliminary scans of the battle that Wendimon fought tonight, this Digimon shares some properties with whatever his opponent was. We're unsure if it's the same Digimon, but-"

Jenrya crossed the distance between them faster than even he would have thought he could. "_Where?_"

Yamaki seemed unfazed by Jenrya's demanding tone. "I'm going to dispatch Ruki and Renamon."

"If this thing is what hurt Shuichon-!"

"Then the last thing you need to do is be involved in the battle," Yamaki stated.

Jenrya's anger was reaching its boiling point. Takato had, in fact, made sure to put some distance between himself and Yamaki just moments before. "Tell me," Jenrya demanded. "Tell me or-"

"Or what?" Yamaki asked, his calmness undaunted.

"If this was someone you cared about, someone you loved," Jenrya said, "then can you honestly say that you wouldn't do whatever it took to find the one who did it?"

"I thought you didn't like to fight," the man retorted.

"I don't!" Jenrya shot back. "But this monster... whatever it is... it hurt my sister. Us Tamers are the only ones who can fight these Digimon. I can't... I just can't let it get away with this!"

Yamaki sighed, pushing his glasses back up on his face. "This Digimon may not have even moved from its initial Realization point. There's no conclusive proof it is the same one who attacked your sister. Even so..." He paused for a moment, and then nodded to himself. "The tunnel you fought IceDevimon in. Apparently, the level of power that he unleashed there has made the barrier between worlds particularly weak around that area. This Wild One is somewhere in there."

Terriermon's head popped out of Jenrya's backpack. "Okay, then! Let's go!"

Jenrya just nodded. He said nothing, and didn't even spare a second look at either Takato or Yamaki. He just walked away, knowing fully well what he planned to do once he found this creature...

* * *

"Hmm," Yamaki mused as Jenrya disappeared around the hallway's corner. "...we give him five minutes, and then we follow him. Ten more, and we call Ruki."

Takato blinked, still shocked from the anger that Jenrya had displayed. It seemed so much unlike him... like he was a whole other person. It also seemed so familiar, somehow...

"Yamaki-san?" Takato said, glancing up at the man. "Was it such a good idea to send him off like that?"

"No, no it wasn't," Yamaki said. "Unfortunately, there also wasn't much choice. He decided he wanted to go... so there was nothing we could do to stop that. That said, it certainly wouldn't be to our advantage for him to get himself hurt out there... so like I said, we're going to follow him."

Takato sighed to himself, frowning. He didn't like this one bit. Something about how Yamaki was handling the whole situation was bothering him...

He glanced back at Shuichon's hospital room, and that frown deepened. If _he_ hadn't gone off with Alice to help the other Tamers, she may not have been by herself. There might not have been much he could do, but still, if he had _been_ there, then maybe...

_I'm sorry, Shuichon-chan,_ Takato thought. _I'm sorry I couldn't help you... and it may not make up for it, but I'm going to make certain that the same thing doesn't happen to Jen. I just hope you'll be okay..._

* * *

The cold wind of the autumn night whipped at Jenrya and Terriermon as the young man raced through West Shinjuku's streets. There was the chance, of course, what he was racing to face wasn't what hurt his sister... That much was obvious. Still, if there was a chance of it... if he could face what did that to Shuichon, question just _why_ this monster hurt them like that, and for what purpose...

Both he and Terriermon remained silent. He knew that his Partner Digimon held the exact same anger as him at the situation. Not only was Shuichon Jenrya's little sister, but Lopmon was both of their friends. Even with Jenrya's beliefs on fighting and killing... they had no choice but to find this Digimon.

Jenrya's feet pounded over the grass of the park, heading towards the tunnel. That horrible place where they fought against IceDevimon... where they were helpless to defeat him and save their friends.

Just as he was helpless to defend his sister.

No more. He wouldn't let anyone get away with that anymore... He had a power. It was high time he truly used it.

As they reached it, Jenrya could see that the tunnel was very dimly lit. There was no telling what was in it, but he started to move inside... and didn't have to go far to find what he was looking for.

Hunched over, looking as if he was scrounging around for something, was a big, blue-skinned, ogre-like Digimon. Pulling out his D-Ark, Jenrya activated the analyzer. "Hyougamon. Adult-level, Icy Snow Digimon."

Hyougamon grunted, turning and hefting up his ice-club. He looked at the two newcomers, blinking several times. "Data...?" He looked at Terriermon, blinked again, and then grinned. "DATA!"

The brutish Digimon began to walk towards them, practically salivating at the sight of another Digimon. Another opponent. This thing... it was obvious already that Jenrya wouldn't be able to talk with him.

Hyougamon gave an almost childish giggle, patting his club as he lumbered towards them. "Data..."

"Could you be the one who did that...?" Jenrya wondered out loud. "Were you the one who attacked my sister and Lopmon?"

"DATA!" Hyougamon shouted again, suddenly rushing at them.

Terriermon growled, leaping off of his Tamer's shoulders. "PETIT TWISTER!" he shouted, spinning around into a miniature tornado, which struck Hyougamon and knocked him back... seemingly only making him angrier.

"You," Jenrya said with a dangerous tone. "If you're the one who hurt them... there wasn't even any reason... You're just... just..."

"Da... ta..." Hyougamon grunted, beginning to advance back on them.

"JUST AN ANIMAL!" Jenrya screamed, a flash of light appearing in his free hand.

A black light.

That dark light formed into a sphere, and energy spilled out in all directions around him. He didn't even pay it any mind, focusing only on Hyougamon. "You... you're going to..." Jenrya gave a yell, slamming the sphere into his D-Ark. "PSI-LINK! EVOLUTION!"

That black light burst from the D-Ark and Terriermon both, and the little Digimon's eyes widened. "Terriermon, EVOLVE!" He changed, as he always did, into a humanoid, gun-handed warrior...

Only this time, his fur was black, rather than green. A sadistic laugh escaped his mouth as he landed, aiming his guns right at the Hyougamon. "BLACKGALGOMON!"

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**Notes:** Well, this is all turning out quite fun for me. Heh, heh, heh.

Outside of that, though, some of you may have noticed I've launched another Inner Demons series, and some may have not. "Inner Demons: Gaiden" is up on my account now too, and adds elements to the story that will fill in a few blanks... and probably raise a few more questions.

Plus! As I'm writing this, we're only one week away from the premiere of the "Digimon Savers" anime in Japan! Digimon's finally back, and it looks like it's going to kick a lot of ass. I'm really looking forward to it, so you all need to keep an eye out, too.

* * *

_"The power of anger and hatred. It is something Makino Ruki has known for a long time... and something that Lee Jenrya has just discovered. BlackGalgomon runs rampant and unchecked... until he faces a worthy opponent in the form of his own allies."  
**Next: Realization 17- "Seeing VS Guard"**_


	18. Realization 17: Seeing VS Guard

**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.  
**Pairing Types:** Male/Female; Female/Female

* * *

Makino Ruki's control over her latent abilities was beyond measure. She, typically, excelled under pressure. With an obviously strong Wild One running around, one which had succeeded in hospitalizing a fellow Tamer, she knew it was up to her to track it down. She just needed to concentrate...

...which would have been a lot easier were it not for a certain scratchy-voiced demon's whining!

"This is boring as crap," Impmon grumbled. "Can I go now?"

Ruki twitched, but didn't open her eyes. She instead tried to resume her concentration. They were at the site of the battle, and she was hoping to pick up some sort of trace from the Wild One's energy... but Takato's digimon was really starting to annoy the hell out of her.

"No, you cannot," Renamon said sternly. "You couldn't go with him to the hospital, obviously, so we're supposed to be baby-sitting you."

"Hey!" Impmon screeched. "He didn't say that! He said I was supposed to help!"

"That's what he _meant_," Renamon retorted.

Ruki's body snapped around and she glared at Impmon. "And you can help by shutting up!"

"Make me!" Impmon shot back.

Ruki's body twitched again. "Oh. It would be well _worth_ giving Takato a major headache to mop the floor with you. But that's not why we're here. So either shut your trap now, or-"

Her cell phone rang. All in all, that was probably a good thing. "Hello?" she asked as she answered it.

"Ruki," Yamaki's voice said. He was breathing hard, and it sounded very well like he was running. "Get to where you battled IceDevimon, immediately. Takato and I will meet you there."

The call ended there, and Ruki blinked a bit. He sounded urgent...

Focusing her attention away from the area at hand, Ruki spread her senses out... and quickly knew exactly why they needed to move.

Apparently, her digimon companions had done the same, as they followed her without a single word exchanged between the three of them.

* * *

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
Phase-One: "Rising Shadow  
Realization 17- _"Seeing VS Guard"_  
By Infinity Blade**

* * *

Yamaki Mitsuo knew he had just done the wrong thing. Sometimes, however, he knew that the wrong thing was necessary to get the appropriate results.

It was true, as he had told Takato, that there was little either of them could have done to stop Jenrya and Terriermon from pursuing this Wild One. With someone who could now access the level of power that Jenrya could, it wouldn't be a good idea to stand in the way. Certainly, he doubted that Jenrya would unleash a Perfect-level digimon inside a hospital where his sister lay injured... but the fact still remained. Jenrya held more power than Yamaki could ever dream of wielding.

Regardless of the facts, though, Yamaki didn't try to stop him. Not really. In fact, he _wanted_ to point Jenrya in the direction of this Wild One. It seemed heartless, but it wasn't without reason. With that power Jenrya had accessed, he needed to know for a fact just what - if any - limitations he might have currently.

He did this because he knew it was coming soon. What Ruki had warned about was starting to rear its head, even then. Protecting this world had to come first, before anything. Even his own conscience.

So, he and Takato ran, hoping to at least catch up with Jenrya and Terriermon before it all really hit the fan.

"Yamaki-san?" the boy spoke up as Yamaki pocketed his cell phone after calling Ruki. "Is she coming?"

He knew Ruki well enough to know she was, even without receiving a direct answer. "Yeah. Knowing them, she'll probably beat us there."

"I see," he said in a low voice.

As they ran across an empty road, Yamaki mentally noted his surprise that Takato could keep up with him. He didn't exactly seem like a boy that was very strong, physically...

"Do you really think this is the same digimon that hurt Shuichon-chan?" Takato asked.

"It's very similar, as I said," Yamaki replied. He _did_ hope it was the same one... the less opponents they had to deal with, the better. "But we can't tell for certain... not yet."

The boy said nothing more. That was for the better, as Yamaki didn't exactly want too many questions at that moment...

* * *

_"I only want to fight to protect. I only want to go as far as I need."_

Deep within Lee Jenrya's mind, those words repeated themselves over and over. These were words he himself had spoken, mere hours earlier when faced with a brutal opponent. Despite that, despite those memories still being fresh in his mind, despite the fact that it went against everything he stood for... He just ignored them. All he wanted right then was the destruction of what stood before him.

Hyougamon grunted, obviously not very much afraid of this evolution. BlackGalgomon giggled to himself, hopping anxiously from foot to foot, obviously ready to unleash his power on this enemy. While Jenrya...

Jenrya, still engulfed in a dark aura, found every ounce of compassion and pity in his being slipping away. He knew that he felt out of control. He knew that he was doing the wrong thing. But he couldn't stop it, and worst of all, he couldn't bring himself to _care._ For all he knew, this _thing_ had just put his sister in the hospital.

"Kill him."

The words slipped out of Jenrya's mouth unconsciously. It was as if he was just along for the ride. As if another force was telling him what to say and what to do... But that would just be an excuse. Jenrya knew better. He knew it was all him, but why couldn't he stop it?

BlackGalgomon gave a cackle in response. Whatever was affecting Jenrya was obviously doing the same to his partner. He took aim for Hyougamon, grinning madly. "GATLING ARM!"

The ogre-like digimon roared, leaping over the gunfire, and straight over both BlackGalgomon and Jenrya. His hitting the ground made everything around them shake violently before he took off running into the park.

It wasn't going to end like that. Before Jenrya had even fully spun around to give chase, BlackGalgomon had already done so. Jenrya couldn't even hope to keep up, but did the best he could. BlackGalgomon was somehow faster than Galgomon... Really, considerably faster than he should have been. He caught up to Hyougamon in no time, but it quickly became clear that the beast merely wanted more room to fight.

As he reached the top of a grassy hill, Hyougamon spun around, snarling. Before BlackGalgomon could even start an attack, the ogre punched out, unleashing an icy blast from his fist. BlackGalgomon quickly leapt high, and the blast harmlessly struck the ground, freezing that area instantly.

Then, BlackGalgomon came down. No attacks. No guns. He merely slammed his metallic fist into Hyougamon's face as hard and as brutally as possible. Hyougamon stumbled back into a nearby tree, and BlackGalgomon laughed, lunging for him.

Jenrya's partner punched the Wild One again. And again. And AGAIN. Over and over, BlackGalgomon pounded his gun-hands into Hyougamon's face and body. The ogre, pinned against the tree, could go nowhere and couldn't defend in any way. BlackGalgomon just kept on mercilessly beating on him, laughing madly with each blow.

Blood and data would fly as BlackGalgomon's steel hands rammed into Hyougamon's body. Jenrya could hear bones cracking, see the teeth being shattered in Hyougamon's gaping maw... He could see all of this, knowing that they were the cause of this creature's suffering, and despite himself, despite everything he knew... He didn't care.

Finally, BlackGalgomon stopped, but it was only momentary. He pulled one hand back, his guns gyrating rapidly. "DUM DUM...!" Energy bristled around the barrels, and he went into an uppercut... that was abruptly interrupted before he could connect with Hyougamon's body.

"WISTERIA PUNCH!"

Emerging from the darkness, moving with a speed BlackGalgomon couldn't hope to match, was Renamon. Before Jenrya could even think about why she would be there, he found himself recoiling in pain as Renamon's fist went into the side of BlackGalgomon's head. Jenrya's digimon partner was sent into the air, landing on the hill and rolling down it.

Jenrya quickly recovered from the pain, staring up at Renamon in shock. She had attacked them. THEM. Not that monster! They were only fighting it, just as they would!

...at least, that's what Jenrya's current state of mind was trying to tell him.

"If you are let to go down that path, Jenrya," Renamon said, looking down at him, "you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"So," Ruki said as she and Impmon stepped up next to the fox, "we're going to make sure you don't, whether you like it or not."

Jenrya growled. To his mind at that point, they were only obstacles between him and Hyougamon. NOTHING was going to stand between them and that monster. "BlackGalgomon!" the teenager roared, and his partner leapt back to his feet, eyeing Renamon and giggling.

"Don't do it, Lee!" Ruki exclaimed. "I'm warning you. You have _no_ idea what you're about to try."

Suddenly, Hyougamon gave an angry roar, stumbling towards Ruki and her companions. The redhead sighed, glancing down at Impmon. "Hey, pipsqueak. Want to show us you're not useless?"

Impmon glared at her, and then laughed, leaping out in front of Hyougamon. "Heh! Not like this punk'll be hard anymore... NIGHT OF FIRE!"

Impmon was, rather obviously, quite surprised when Hyougamon still had the strength and speed to dodge the fireballs. In retaliation, the ogre screamed and unleashed another freezing blast from his fist. Impmon narrowly avoided it by hitting the ground, and then laughed quite nervously.

"Just get it out of our hair," Ruki muttered.

Impmon then took another tactic. He ran. Having now labeled Impmon his target, Hyougamon gave chase.

"That thing is mine!" Jenrya screamed up at them.

"You're not even talking like yourself, Lee Jenrya," Ruki said, retaining a calm tone in stark contrast to him. "You're obviously not thinking like yourself, either. Just back down, now, and we'll sort this out, otherwise..."

"You're not stopping me," Jenrya growled. "You're not one to talk, either!" Ruki's expression and tone were unchanged. "It's just like Renamon said. If we let you do that, then you'll regret it. You're strong enough to do it, so either force back that Dark Evolution and find yourself... or we'll do it for you."

Jenrya said nothing. He was intent on destroying that monster. Nothing else. BlackGalgomon, in the same state, just laughed and started running up the hill at Renamon and Ruki.

Both of them were undaunted by the charge. Renamon leapt for BlackGalgomon, sending out a kick towards his head. She seemed momentarily surprised when he blocked it with one gun-hand... but then easily avoided his blows as he started swinging for her wildly.

"Sloppy," Renamon chided, easily dodging his punches. "Unfocused. This isn't like you." She flipped away, landing on the flat ground at the bottom of the hill. "Neither of you are this bad at fighting."

BlackGalgomon just chuckled, aiming for her and unleashing a torrent of gunfire. Renamon disappeared from sight, and for the moment, didn't reappear. BlackGalgomon, on the other hand, just... kept firing. He sent bullets flying everywhere, seemingly for no real reason, and just seemed to be delighted in the act of shooting his guns aimlessly.

"Is this what you want?" Ruki asked, quietly summoning her Draw Field to reflect any stray shots. "To do this to yourself? To _Terriermon_? Turning him into exactly what you're fighting?"

"SHUT UP!" Jenrya screamed. "It's no different than how you beat IceDevimon!"

"_That_ was a mistake," Ruki said. "I've made a lot of them. But you..."

Renamon reappeared behind BlackGalgomon, unleashing a flurry of punches. Too distracted with his own gunfire, he didn't notice, and the fox pounded into his back several times before he swung around, still firing his guns. Renamon ducked, and then came back up, landing an uppercut on his jaw. Jenrya winced from the pain, glaring up at Ruki.

"You're not me!" Ruki yelled down at him. "You're not going to make my mistakes! For your loved ones, your partner... It's not going to happen! RENAMON!"

"RIGHT!" the fox exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing both of BlackGalgomon's metal gun-hands as he fell back from the punch.

"PSI CARD SLASH!" Ruki shouted, sliding a yellow card. "THUNDER FUSION, LEVEL-TWO!"

Renamon's entire body lit up with electricity as the power of that card was unleashed. It went straight through BlackGalgomon's metal gauntlets and into his body. Both he and Jenrya screamed in pain and continued to do so until Renamon finally let up. She released BlackGalgomon, and leapt back, letting him fall over, his body glowing brightly. As he reverted back into Terriermon, Jenrya collapsed to the ground from the pain.

Almost more intense than the pain, however, was how suddenly his mind became clear. He felt like he could actually think straight again. With that, though, came the full realization of what he had just done. What he had _tried_ to do. What he had _said_, and what he had _thought_...

Suddenly, he was feeling rather sick to his stomach.

"It sucks, doesn't it?"

Jenrya looked up to see Ruki standing over him. "R-Ruki," he stammered, and then bowed his head. For everything he had done in the past few minutes, he didn't think he had been more ashamed in his entire life. "I... what just happened to me?"

"You mean other than making a total ass of yourself?" Ruki asked. "To put it simply, that was our... balance. What we do as Tamers is purely by our own choices. We're not pre-destined saviors of the world or anything. Everything we do that's for the good of everything... we have just as much potential to do evil. If we don't control ourselves... if we don't control our emotions... this is what happens."

Jenrya held his head. He couldn't believe he did that. That he was just going to, for all intents and purposes, kill that Hyougamon in cold blood... That he was willing to fight Ruki and Renamon like that...

"Moumantai, Jen."

He looked to see Renamon picking Terriermon up off the ground, as the smaller digimon was definitely too weak to get up at that moment. Terriermon smiled. "We just made a mistake..."

Jenrya sighed, looking back to Ruki. "That digimon..."

"It's not the one that hurt them," she said. "I'm sure of that. What happened to Shuichon and Lopmon... it was deliberate. Someone wanted us to see what they did to them. Plus, that Hyougamon wouldn't have stopped until they were both dead."

"Indeed," Renamon said. "And on top of that, that creature is far too weak to beat someone like Lopmon."

"I see," Jenrya muttered. "...you realize, of course, you've still got a lot of things to explain now."

Ruki frowned. "Yeah, figured as much."

The boy then blinked. "Hey, wait... what about Impmon?"

"Eh," Ruki shrugged, and then waved a hand. "He'll be fine."

* * *

As they entered the park, Takato and Yamaki promptly heard an ear-splitting scream. It didn't take more than a moment to figure out the source, either, as both saw Impmon come running out between some bushes.

"Wow," Takato muttered to himself. "My... digimon screams like a girl..."

It was only a moment after that, of course, that they found out the reason for the screaming: a hulking, blue, ogre-like digimon that was chasing after Impmon. The small demon grinned as he saw his Tamer, and turned to start running for him.

"About damn time!" Impmon shouted.

Takato and Yamaki both just stared as the Wild One continued chasing Impmon. "I don't suppose he realizes," Yamaki said, "that thing is going to go through all of us now."

Takato sighed, yanking his D-Ark out of his pocket and summoning a Psi Card. "Please just remember to turn around and aim this at the digimon," the boy said to himself, and then slid the card. "Psi Card Slash! FLAME FUSION, LEVEL-ONE!"

Impmon quickly spun around, stopping and thrusting his hands out. "Summon! INFERNO!"

The digimon - a Hyougamon, Takato believed - never even knew what hit him. The massive burst of fire struck him with full force, causing his body to be destroyed and burst into data within seconds.

"DATA LOAD!" Takato shouted as he thrust his D-Ark out, causing the data to be loaded into the device.

"Hah!" Impmon cheered. "That'll show anyone to mess with the great Impmon-sama!"

Takato blinked, and then looked down at the self-congratulatory digimon. "Would that be before or after the screaming and running?"

Impmon glared back at his Tamer. "Just... shut up."

"Regardless," Yamaki said, "that raises the question of where our other Tamers are."

Impmon started to open his mouth, but was interrupted as they heard someone else speak. "Right here," they heard Ruki's voice say before Renamon dropped down in front of them, carrying Jenrya and Ruki in her arms. Terriermon was riding on Jenrya's shoulder. "Sorry about that. Impmon wound up ticking that Hyougamon off, and he got away from us."

Yamaki raised an eyebrow, eyeing them with an obvious curiosity through his sunglasses. "I see," he said, and didn't sound entirely happy. "That's oddly... sloppy of you."

"Hey," Ruki said sternly, "it's been a long day. Give us a break, huh?"

"I suppose," Yamaki said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Still, that's really the point, isn't it? To have so many Realizations and events in one day..."

"What do you think it means?" Takato asked.

Yamaki frowned, glancing at Ruki. It was only brief, but long enough for Takato to find it slightly odd. "I'm going to investigate it. For now, however... you all should be free to go. Just be prepared. The way things are going, we could have a fight on our hands at any moment."

"What about Hoshi Hikaru?" Jenrya asked. "We still need to find him, don't we?"

Yamaki nodded. "Indeed. That boy is definitely a key... but, much as I hate to say it, after seeing what happened earlier today, I don't think we're going to find him until he shows himself. Be on the lookout, but for now... just go about things as you normally would."

That sounded nice, Takato thought. The way things were going, however, he didn't figure they would get the _chance_ to go about their lives normally...

* * *

To any outside observers, Katoki Shinji was a fairly successful man. He had a good job, which he did well at, and made good money. Certainly enough to take care of himself, support his family...

None of that really mattered to the man right then. He sat in his darkened living room, with no light except that from the television. In the light, one would have saw a tidy, clean room... But, also see pictures of people who simply weren't there. It was just him, alone.

Taking a sip of the beer he held in his hand, he sighed. When his son was hurt, hospitalized, seeing the state he was in... He had promised himself to make things better. Their house, their relationship... He had seen where things went wrong. He was going to make his life better. He was going to make _Yosuke's_ life better. Take care of him like he should have...

But... Yosuke was gone. Vanished. The authorities were baffled, and were utterly useless in finding the boy. He could have been out there, hurt, or lost... Or even worse, dead.

It was just the fact that he didn't know. _That_ was worse than anything else in the world.

"I should've known I'd find your ass here drowning yourself."

Shinji froze for a second, and then jolted out of his seat, the beer can dropping from his hand to the floor, spilling out in his rush. Standing there at the now-open balcony door was someone who seemed to be wrapped in bandages all over his head and beneath his clothes. But, that voice, he knew that voice anywhere...

"Y-Yosuke!" he exclaimed, walking towards him, stumbling half the way there. "How did you..."

The bandaged boy just shook his head. "What should it matter, old man?" He then grunted, walking past the man into the apartment. "Can't even walk without tripping over yourself now, can you?"

"Yosuke," Shinji said, following his son with his eyes. "I just... I hadn't heard anything... No one knew anything..."

Yosuke stopped at where the beer can had fallen on the floor, the alcohol already being absorbed into the carpet. He took a whiff of the air, and glared back at the man. "So you did what you do when something bad happens. No big surprise there."

The man tried to smile, and began to stumble back towards the teenager. "Yosuke, it can all change... We can make it better... Just... what happened?"

Yosuke's eyes narrowed, and it seemed to Shinji like he was looking behind him. Moments later, he realized that he _was._

Something suddenly grabbed him from behind. Long, white fingers wrapped around his neck. They felt cold against his skin, and he soon found himself unable to breathe as the large hand lifted him effortlessly into the air. He found himself turned around, and faced with a tall, white-clad devil with bright red eyes.

"Meet IceDevimon," Yosuke said. "He's what happened. I just came by to tell you I won't be back."

The man then found himself flung across the room, crashing down roughly against the carpeted floor. He gasped for air, grabbing his throat and thankful he could actually breathe after that. He then looked up, seeing that 'IceDevimon' thing standing on the balcony, while Yosuke had picked up a family photograph off a table.

The teenager looked at the picture for a moment, and then sighed to himself and dropped it to the ground. The frame around the picture cracked, and Yosuke looked down at his father. Shinji's entire body shook, from both the pain of the impact, and the very sight of IceDevimon.

"Pathetic," Yosuke grunted, walking back towards the balcony. "Don't worry about me, just forget everything. Knowing you, I doubt that'll be much of a problem..."

Once Yosuke was outside, IceDevimon picked him up and leapt into the air, soaring off. So, just like that, the boy was gone.

* * *

DarkLizamon's eyes snapped open, and immediately found himself unable to move. He seemed to be suspended in some kind of strange liquid. Strange, in the sense that it didn't extinguish his flames. Cables were attached to him at various points. He could feel them poking inside his body, and yet it somehow didn't hurt. They reached out to somewhere beyond his sight. It was what was in his sight, however, that caught his interest the most.

Standing behind a glass that separated the tank he was in from outside was that blond human he had seen earlier. The one that commanded the Tamer girl and her Renamon. "HUMAN!" DarkLizamon roared, slightly surprised to find he could actually speak. Or that his voice carried through the substance restraining him.

"The name is Yamaki Mitsuo," the human said. "You are DarkLizamon, am I correct?"

"How dare you imprison me like this?" DarkLizamon screamed. "If you must mock my weakness, just kill me and be done with it!"

The man showed no physical reaction. "That's not going to be happening. I'm afraid we very well need you intact... for the moment."

"You sick bag of flesh!" DarkLizamon shot back. "Do you delight in keeping me like this?"

"Why did you come here?" Yamaki asked, ignoring the question.

DarkLizamon snorted. "If you must know, I had no choice in the matter. I am nothing but a piece of the Digital World's excess trash, as so deemed by the Destroyer."

"The 'Destroyer?'" Yamaki said, a sudden hint of curiosity in his voice.

"He who has turned our world into the hellish realm that it is today," DarkLizamon said. "The one that exists only for the sake of inflicting darkness upon everything."

"Ah," Yamaki said. "Him. So he _does_ still exist, then?"

"In a state," DarkLizamon said. He was greatly agitated by his current situation, but had no real reason to not speak. "Not as he once was... His power is limited now, but still beyond measure."

"So he's still sealed?"

"And how, exactly, would you know of this, human?" DarkLizamon asked. Now _his_ curiosity was piqued.

"I know of one Tamer who took part in that sealing," Yamaki said.

DarkLizamon gave a small chuckle. "The girl?"

Yamaki stared at him, and then crossed his arms. "What of her?"

"You know less than you think, quite obviously, human," DarkLizamon said.

"And what is it that I don't know?" Yamaki asked, his tone demanding.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" the digimon said. He laughed again. "I think, actually, I'm tired of talking. If you truly want to know... well, maybe if I'm alive long enough, we can have another little talk later, hmm?"

Yamaki was silent for a short while, and then turned to leave. "Yes. Maybe if you are, we can."

The lights in the room Yamaki was in shut off, plunging it - and DarkLizamon's tank - into utter darkness. That was fine, DarkLizamon figured. He knew now that man wasn't going to kill him anytime soon...

No, he had plenty of time to string things along until he could figure a way out. After all, he had _so_ many stories he was certain Yamaki would be interested in...

* * *

"Well, today sure as hell sucked," Impmon grumbled, lying on the window sill of Takato's room, looking off at the stars. "And not just sorta sucked. It _really_ sucked."

"Yeah," Takato sighed, staring at the ceiling from his bed. "For once, I've got to agree with you."

"Though it must've sucked a lot more for Terriermon, what with that crazy evolution and everything," Impmon said casually.

Takato blinked, and then shot up into a sitting position. "What crazy evolution?"

"He was all nuts," Impmon said, merely shrugging. "Was beatin' the hell outta that Hyougamon. Then he wanted to fight Renamon! What a dumbass."

Takato's mouth hung open. "That sounds a lot like Youkomon..."

"Yeah, basically," Impmon said, and then yawned. "But, whatever. His problem, not ours, right?"

Takato scratched his head, lying back down. They had been lying straight to Yamaki's face about that. Terriermon had evolved into some wild dark form, just like Renamon. And they were keeping it under wraps.

Something was very wrong there. There was something about that dark evolution that they didn't want Yamaki to find out about.

The question, of course, was just what would happen if Yamaki _did_ find out...

**-To Be Continued**

* * *

**_Notes:_ Wow, I hate writer's block. But it feels so nice once it's over and you actually CAN write again. **

**So, since my last chapter, Digimon Savers has started in Japan and is now going strong, with some great story elements cropping up. There's definitely going to be a lot of fic fodder for me there, and you can very well expect me to churn out some Savers-related stuff eventually. But for here, I bring it up because one thing amused me - namely that the Digisoul Charge bears a striking resemblance to how the Adult Levels are activated in ID, the Psi-Link. **

**I dunno. Maybe I'm easily amused.**

**The final story arc of Inner Demons Phase One begins next chapter. Just so you know. I know at this point exactly what'll be happening in Phase Two, but I'm not going to reveal it's title yet... Which I'm sure you'll understand once you see said title. And in-between Phases One and Two, I'll have another ID project coming out OTHER than Gaiden... so watch this space in future chapters for more information. **

* * *

_"The forces working against the Tamers are ready. Problem is, with them not knowing who these forces are, the Tamers themselves can't exactly say the same. And Takato's about to come face-to-face with the one thing he never expected..."_  
**Next: Realization 18- _"Burned"_**


	19. Realization 18: Burned

**Disclaimer: **"Digimon Tamers" is the property of Akiyoshi Hongo, Bandai, Toei Animation, and Disney. Original characters and concepts are mine.

**Notes:** Rating increased for some more excessive violence and things I KNOW are coming up in future chapters. And just like with Divided Paths, some slight formatting changes.

- - - -

Ruki's eyes opened, slowly, and she gave a frustrated sigh. She was back at the scene of the attack on Shuichon and Lopmon, and again trying to get a sense of the attacker... and yet, despite the lack of a complaining small demon this time...

"Nothing," she muttered, eyeing the others with her. Terriermon and Renamon were on either side of her, trying to do the same as she was, but with similar results. Jenrya stood away from them, silently, letting them try their best.

Unfortunately for all of them, their best didn't seem to be good enough.

"Same here," Terriermon said with a frown. "Damn! I know there were digimon here, but the only one that I recognize is Lopmon..."

Renamon crossed her arms, staring intently at the spot where Lopmon had been found up against a wall. "Something about that other signature, though faint now after so much time, is familiar," she said. "But not so much that I can pinpoint it. It's... strange."

"Wonderful," Jenrya said, rubbing his forehead. "So you're saying all we can do is sit around and wait until this guy dares to show his face again?"

"We'll have to be on our guard, that's for sure," Ruki said, walking over towards the other teen. "But that may be for the best. We're all fairly drained after everything today."

"I... guess," Jenrya said, begrudgingly. "I just..."

"Easy, Jen," Terriermon said, jumping up onto his Tamer's shoulder. "We don't need to go getting ticked again. Didn't exactly work out last time, y'know?"

Jenrya ran a hand through his blue hair, taking a deep breath. "Yeah... yeah, I know." He then glanced at Ruki. "I just don't get it. Are you telling me that every Tamer is capable of what we just did tonight? That each one of us can potentially just lose control of ourselves like that? I couldn't even control what I was saying, much less what I was _doing_!"

Terriermon shifted a bit, obviously uncomfortable after the night's events. "Heck, I can barely remember what _I_ did..."

"Wish I could say the same," Jenrya muttered.

"We all have the potential, yes," Ruki said. "Which is why for everyone's sake, an out-of-control Tamer is the worst possible enemy we could face. So the sooner we track down Evilmon's Tamer, the better."

"And you want to keep all this from Yamaki," Jenrya said, causing Ruki to flinch a bit.

"Well," she said, spinning around and starting to walk off with Renamon. "Ask yourself that question. Do _you_ want Yamaki to know about this? And, on top of that," she continued, looking back at him, "can you honestly say that when faced with whatever hurt your sister for real, you won't do what you did tonight? That, at least, is something you need to answer before you even think about going into battle again."

Ruki didn't wait for any kind of reply. She just continued walking, leaving the two of them to figure out that answer for themselves.

It wasn't her responsibility, after all, to figure that out for them. In the end, all she wanted was to avoid having yet another enemy out there to take care of...

- - - -

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
****Phase 01: Rising Shadow  
****Realization 18- **_**"Burned"  
**_**By Infinity Blade**

- - - -

Takato really didn't want to go to school. More than usual, as he truly felt like he should be elsewhere. Like he should be out there searching for Hoshi Hikaru and Evilmon, or for Shuichon and Lopmon's attacker... or, even, checking in and seeing how the girl was doing.

Which was almost sort of odd, he realized. He barely knew Shuichon, but the thought of her being laid up in the hospital like she was, knowing how badly she was hurt... It bothered him a lot. And the more time passed, it did so more and more. He wouldn't even be standing there, he wouldn't be _alive_ if not for Shuichon... The fact he wasn't doing anything right then to get to the truth behind her attack gave him a disturbed feeling he couldn't place.

Upon entering the schoolyard, he immediately spotted Juri walking towards the building. Yet, he stopped himself from calling out to her when he saw her with two of her friends, Nakajima Miki and Itou Ayaka. He may have known that she was his friend, but he didn't want to soil her reputation. People _still_ were thinking he was the one who attacked Yosuke.

Which, much as he didn't want to admit it, wasn't too far from the truth.

"Geez, you look like crap," he heard a voice say as someone slapped him on the back.

Takato grinned sheepishly, looking to find Hirokazu walking next to him. "I didn't get much sleep last night..."

"Heh, I kinda figured," Hirokazu said. "So, how did things go with that stupid Hoshi kid?"

Takato frowned. "It, uh... it could have gone better." He dropped his voice low, eyeing the ground as he walked. "He... well, he may or may not be a Tamer. _Evilmon's_ Tamer."

Hirokazu's stride stopped abruptly, and he shouted, "WHAT!?"

"Shh!" Takato hissed, clamping a hand over Hirokazu's mouth as other students started staring at them. "We don't know for certain," Takato whispered. "But Evilmon _is_ alive. He tricked all of us with that Nightmare Field, and he's a lot stronger than we thought. He beat Impmon and Shuichon-chan's Wendimon without breaking a sweat."

"Shuichon-chan?" Hirokazu asked, blinking, and then grinned widely. "Geez, man, you've just got girls hanging off you with this gig, don't you?"

Takato's face went red. "Just what's that supposed to mean?"

Hirokazu just coughed lightly and pointed behind his friend. Turning, Takato found Alice standing right behind him and promptly jumped in surprise.

"Good morning, Matsuda-kun," Alice said, smiling just slightly.

"A-A-Alice," Takato stammered, his face even redder then, somehow. "M-morning."

Alice said nothing more, just continuing to smile, before she left them and headed into the school building.

"Well," Hirokazu said, eyeing her intently as she disappeared into the building, "she's a little weird. But at least she's hot."

"I- uh, I have no idea what you're talking about," Takato mumbled, looking away to try and cover his embarrassment.

"...so what about this Shuichon girl? Cute?"

Takato hit his forehead and whirled back around to face Hirokazu. "She's Lee Jenrya's younger sister."

Hirokazu's face went blank for a moment. "Lee, Lee... oh. _Lee._ ...he could kick my ass."

"Yes," Takato said, grabbing his friend by the arm and pulling him into the school. "Yes he could. Now, lets get to class before we're late..."

- - - -

Katoki Yosuke sat in the shadows quietly. He was in a run down, condemned building. The room he was sitting in, an old office of some sort, got very little light through the boarded up windows. It was just enough to make out what was in the room without tripping over anything, but not much more than that. The room was incredible dirty, dusty, and all together, not a place one would want to stay for long.

It didn't matter too much, though. He wouldn't _be_ there long.

Across the room, his tall frame leaned up against a wall, was IceDevimon. "You're awfully quiet all of a sudden, you know."

Yosuke looked down from the fallen angel to the D-Ark he held in his hand. "Just thinking, that's all..."

IceDevimon crossed his long arms. "Not second thoughts, I should hope. After all, once we're finished tonight..."

Yosuke grit his teeth, glaring at the digimon. "No. No second thoughts." He put a hand to his bandaged face. "This burn, this pain... it won't go away... Matsuda... him and his digimon... Once we get a hold of them..."

IceDevimon smiled a bit. "And Ruki."

Yosuke nodded and looked back down at his D-Ark. He knew _exactly_ what he needed to do...

It wouldn't end his pain, but it would sure as hell make him feel better...

- - - -

"You look unusually thoughtful."

Impmon nearly jumped out of his skin. He had been sitting behind the tool shed at Takato's school, thinking how annoying it was his Tamer had to go to this stupid place every day. That time could be much better spent being out there, hunting for strong opponents like that lousy Evilmon... but instead, he was stuck in that dumb building for hours.

Then he heard that voice, and spun around, finding Renamon standing behind him. "GEEZ!" Impmon snarled. "Give a guy a little warnin', would you!?"

"Your senses must be really weak," Renamon said, "considering I've been standing here for the past five minutes."

Impmon's emerald eyes went wide for just a second before he glared at her. "You lousy sneak! I should-!"

"Please," Renamon said, and then sighed. "I think we have better things to be doing than fighting one another. Correct?"

Impmon had already lit a fireball on his fingertip. He frowned a bit, and then grumbled to himself, blowing the flame out. "I guess. For now. The hell are you doin' here, botherin' me, any way?"

"All leads and any sense of those we're searching for has dried up," Renamon stated. "Try as we might, we have positively no idea where to start looking. Thus... I suppose I have nothing better to do."

"Nothin' better to do than to annoy me?"

"Basically."

Impmon stared. And then smacked himself in the face. "You're really askin' for it."

Renamon crossed her arms. "I'd think you would know better than to challenge me by this point."

"Whatever, toots," Impmon said with the wave of his hand. "I'm just getting' started. If I just had a damn Tamer that knew what he was doin'..."

Renamon's eyes narrowed. "You're far too harsh on your Tamer. Your partnership is a two-way street. If you think that _he_ is the only reason you lack any sort of strength..."

"Whatever!" Impmon shouted. "Just lay offa me, will you? The last thing I need is lectures from someone like you!"

"Whatever, hm?" Renamon asked, and then shrugged. "Fine, then. Whatever."

In an instant, Renamon blinked out of sight, and Impmon rubbed his eyes. "Gah. I hate it when she does that crap."

- - - -

"That's horrible!" Juri exclaimed as Takato finished telling her and Hirokazu all the events of the last day. Specifically, he had just finished covering the attack on Shuichon. The three stood at a window overlooking the schoolyard in one of the less crowded hallways on their lunch break. "That anything would hurt someone like that..."

"Great," Hirokazu grumbled. "Now I feel bad about asking what I did earlier..." He then blinked thoughtfully. "So, wait a sec. If Lee's little sister is a Tamer, then..."

"Jen's a Tamer too, yeah," Takato said. "There's no telling where the digimon that hurt Shuichon-chan and Lopmon is-"

Before Takato could finish his sentence, the trio heard a scream from down a nearby hall. They all looked at each other briefly before Juri exclaimed, "That was Ayaka-chan!"

The teenagers rushed around the corner, and sure enough, saw a crowd of students including Ayaka and Miki. The cause of this was rather apparent; Kobayashi Norio had Kenta pinned to a wall with one hand, and looked about ready to pound the green-haired teen in the face with his free fist.

"Take it back, Kitagawa!" Norio exclaimed. "Take back what you said about Yosuke!"

Kenta looked scared to death, but shook his head. "N-no..."

"Kobayashi-kun!" Juri shouted down the hall. "Let him go this instant!"

Hirokazu pounded a fist into his palm. "Better listen to the lady!"

Takato, meanwhile, looked around frantically. Where was a teacher when you needed one? However, he couldn't help but sympathize with Kenta's situation. He could certainly relate...

Just when Norio looked like he was about ready to start beating Kenta senseless, another voice cut in. "_Norio._ Put the kid down, _now._"

Norio froze, his eyes wide, before releasing Kenta and stepping back. Standing on the other side of the crowd was Kobayashi Yasuo, Norio's older brother.

"I'm worried about Yosuke too, man," Yasuo said, eyeing Norio. "But I'm not letting you get yourself in trouble over it because of some little twit."

Takato dared not ask what came to mind, but did anyway. "Is there something wrong with Katoki?" He was met with glares from both Kobayashi brothers. "...besides the, um, obvious..."

"If you must know, Matsuda," Yasuo said dryly. "It's because he's missing. His hospital room was found empty, no one can get a hold of his family, and no one's heard from him since."

"Well, that's, uh..." Takato began, only to have Yasuo laugh.

"Don't even try, Matsuda," Yasuo said, and then looked back to his younger brother. "I need to get back to class, Norio. You should do the same."

"Yeah, yeah," Norio grunted, lumbering off down the hall as Yasuo walked away.

As various students started to wander off, the chance of potential violence averted, Kenta finally moved. He rubbed his shoulder as he walked, grimacing. "Geez, Kobayashi has a grip like an ox..."

"Dude!" Hirokazu said, stopping him as he walked by. "What did you _say_ to him?"

Kenta blinked, staring at Hirokazu cautiously. "_You're_ not going to try something too, are you?"

Hirokazu sighed, slapping his forehead. "Didn't I say I'm not running with Katoki's people anymore?"

"I... guess," Kenta said, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. "Well, a couple of other students and I were talking about Katoki disappearing. I said something like, 'he's so stupid he must've got lost on the way to the bathroom.' And... Kobayashi overheard me."

"What about the guys you were talking to?" Takato asked, looking around. "Where did they go?"

"They ran away," Kenta muttered, dejectedly.

Hirokazu crossed his arms, grunting. "Chicken shits."

"Juri-chan!" Ayaka shouted from further down the hallway. "Aren't you coming?"

Juri blinked, looking at Ayaka and Miki, and then at Takato, Hirokazu, and Kenta. The girl then smiled and waved back to the other two girls. "I'll catch up with you in a minute!"

Both Ayaka and Miki looked at Juri's companions, exchanged strange looks, and then shrugged, marching off down the hallway.

"You don't have to do that, Juri," Takato said after the other girls were out of earshot.

The brown-haired girl eyed him curiously. "Do what?"

"I mean, I understand Hirokazu and I aren't exactly the most popular guys around..."

She stared at him for just a moment before sighing, a little irritably. "Takato-kun!" she snapped, causing him to suddenly tense at her sudden change in tone. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm your friend?"

"I- I know that!" Takato stuttered. "It's just-"

"No," she said firmly, waving a finger in his face. "You're. My. Friend. No ifs, ands, or buts. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Got it?"

Takato blushed a bit, but gave a small laugh. "Okay, alright. Thanks."

"Hey, what about me?" Hirokazu asked.

"You?" Juri asked, and then tapped her chin as if in deep thought. "I... guess... I tolerate you!" she finished brightly.

Hirokazu scoffed, crossing his arms. "Gee, thanks."

"You still owe me for lunch the other day," she said, flashing a smile. "After that, we'll see."

Just then, Takato realized someone was missing, and looked around. "Hey, where did Kenta go?"

Juri looked about as well, and then scratched her head. "I guess he just slipped off. Wow. He's even quieter than you, Takato-kun."

It was just as well, Takato figured. Though he appreciated Juri and Hirokazu's sentiments, the less people that were close to him right then, the better...

- - - -

It was days like this that Ruki hated school. She _should_ have been out there, searching for Evilmon's Tamer or Shuichon's attacker. In her mind, anyway. She didn't have time to sit around, not knowing what else they were up to... Who might be hurt in the meantime...

On the other hand, she had missed far too much school recently to be able to afford missing another day. And in the event anything _did_ happen, she knew Yamaki would waste no time in contacting her.

Still, that did little to diminish her worries. Something big was going to happen soon. She could feel it in her bones... Thus, as class ended, she was rushing to get her things together so she could get to work.

"You know, I can always tell when you're thinking too hard," Ruki heard a voice say as she stuffed items into her school bag. The redhead looked up to see Minami leaning against her desk. "You ignore everything else in the world."

Ruki stared a bit at the other girl, and then resumed her task. Buckling her bag up, she hefted it over her shoulder. "Just kind of got a lot on my mind today."

Minami pouted. "You've barely even so much as _looked_ at me today, Ruki-chan."

"Sorry," she said shortly before heading for the door. Minami huffed and followed her.

"And you didn't snap at me just then for calling you that!" Minami shouted after her. She quickly caught up in the hallway, grabbing Ruki by the wrist.

The Tamer stopped abruptly, looking back at her girlfriend. "Minami..." her words stopped there, unable to think of a good response. She _hated_ it when someone else was right like that.

"I can tell something else is going on," Minami said. "If you care about me, at least pay me the respect of knowing what that is."

"Minami, I..." she trailed off again, before sighing and closing her eyes. Then, she snatched her arm away from the other girl, causing her to jump a bit in surprise. Her eyes then snapped open, her expression hardened. "This is for your own good. If you knew what was coming, it would only put you in more danger than you already are."

Minami stared at her in shock for a few seconds before her body began to shake. She balled her hands up, and Ruki could see tears starting to form in her eyes. "Y-you..." she stammered, and then gulped hard before continuing. "You're too cruel, Ruki. How can you say you know what's best for me, when you don't even know what's best for yourself?"

She then ran off, not even giving Ruki the chance to reply. The redhead just stared after her, mouth hanging open. For a moment, she felt a twisting pain deep within her... and then she shook her head, forcing herself to continue on her way.

Minami didn't understand. She wasn't a Tamer. She _wouldn't_ understand.

And if that's what it took to keep her safe, no matter how painful it was, Ruki knew she may need to let things end just as they were in that moment...

- - - -

"Lee! Lee Jenrya!"

Jenrya stopped abruptly as he headed away from the school, his bag slung over his shoulder. Not recognizing the voice, he turned around with some edge of caution, only to find a young man his age with green hair and glasses running up to him. The blue-haired teen raised an eyebrow as he caught up, panting heavily. "Pardon, but do I know you?"

"Not... really," the boy said, standing upright. "I've only been in Shinjuku for a couple months. My name's Kitagawa Kenta."

"I... see," Jenrya said, eyeing the boy oddly. He didn't know what this guy wanted, but it couldn't be too important. Not anymore important than where he had to be, anyway, after what happened the previous night... "Can I help you with something?"

"Well, sort of," Kenta said, adjusting his glasses. "I was wondering if I could, uh... talk to you about something."

Jenrya frowned. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't exactly have the time for idle chatter. "Sorry, Kitagawa-kun, but I really need to be somewhere. Could it possibly wait until later?"

"But-!"

Jenrya held up a hand before Kenta could go any further. "Like I said, sorry. But it's really important I get going."

Kenta just stared at him, and then finally relented, sighing and turning around to walk away. "Yeah, okay..."

Once the green-haired boy was out of sight, another voice piped up. "Gee, Jen. You can be kind of a dick when you want to be."

Jenrya glanced up at a nearby tree to see Terriermon hanging from a limb by his ears. "Come on, Terriermon. You know exactly what we're dealing with. I just don't have the time right now."

Terriermon nodded, flipping down onto his Tamer's shoulders. "Hey, I know that, I'm just saying..."

Sighing, Jenrya began to walk. "Cut me some slack. We need to get to Zhao-sensei's, and still have enough time to go looking for whoever it is we need to find."

"Yeah, okay," Terriermon said. Then, after a long pause, continued. "You're still a dick."

"_Terriermon!_"

- - - -

"Hirokazu," Takato said as he walked through Shinjuku park with Hirokazu, Juri, and Impmon. Hirokazu was currently waving a card of a pot-bellied, red-skinned devil digimon in his face. "That's disgusting."

"What?" Hirokazu asked. "You don't think Impmon could evolve into Boogeymon?"

"I sure _hope_ not," Takato and Impmon chorused in perfect, deadpan unison.

Hirokazu snorted, shoving the card back into his pocket. "Well, Agumon your partner _isn't,_ Takato. I wouldn't exactly set my hopes too high."

"Them's fightin' words, kiddo!" Impmon shouted. "I'll be the most powerful digimon you've ever seen, just you wait! At least, I would if my Tamer would actually get off his ass and _do_ something!"

"Impmon-chan!" Juri suddenly snapped, causing Impmon to suddenly freeze, while Takato gained an expression filled with total horror and Hirokazu burst out laughing.

"Impmon-WHAT!?" Impmon exclaimed, his voice squeaking out at a much higher pitch than he probably intended.

Juri crossed her arms, staring down at him sternly. "Takato-kun is your friend! You shouldn't be so mean to him!" She pointed a finger to the Tamer, who was presently just shaking his head in disbelief. Hirokazu, meanwhile, had doubled over in laughter and actually looked to be in visible pain from it. "Apologize!"

"A-apologize!?" Impmon said, and then shook his head. "I don't even know the meanin' of the word!"

"It means to be sorry or regretful!" Juri shot back. "Now say it!"

"No!"

"Say it!"

"MAKE ME!"

"Impmon! Juri!" Takato finally cut in, standing between the digimon and teenaged girl. "Time out!"

Impmon grunted and crossed his arms, turning his back to the humans. Takato laughed nervously as Juri did pretty much the same. "C'mon, Impmon just gets like this sometimes... it's no big deal..."

"Oh, sure!" Impmon said. "You're callin' me out and takin' her side just because she has breasts and a skirt!"

Takato spun back around, his cheeks burning red. "HEY! You're the one who insulted _me!_"

"'Cause you haven't done jack shit!" Impmon said, turning back around. "Evilmon was just playin' us, and otherwise, what've we done? Taken out a couple weak-ass Bakemon and a half-beaten Hyogamon!"

"I can't help any of that!" Takato said. "I'm only just learning all of this stuff. You can't expect me to be like Ruki or Jen after such a short time!"

"Keh. Even that stupid little girl could evolve her partner!"

Suddenly, something in Takato snapped. Hirokazu stopped laughing and Juri turned around in shock as Takato punched his partner right in the face. And promptly recoiled in pain himself as he felt the pain reflected back on him. Still, despite that, while Impmon fell to the ground, Takato was well prepared to keep on before Hirokazu restrained him from behind.

"Dude, calm down!" Hirokazu exclaimed. "That's _so_ not like you. Just-!"

"TAKE THAT BACK, IMPMON!" Takato yelled down at his digimon. "Shuichon-chan is _not_ stupid, and she's laid up in a hospital, not even able to wake up, thanks to someone we don't even know who wants to mess with all of us!"

Impmon sat up, rubbing his face in total shock. "Y-you..."

"I never wanted a digimon like you!" Takato yelled. "If I wasn't connected to you like I am, then I... I...!"

"Well that's just fine and dandy!" Impmon shot back, his expression snapping back to normal. He stood up, glaring at his Tamer. "I never wanted a weak-willed pussy of a Tamer, either! If that's the way you want to have things be, then-!"

Impmon stopped cold. Quite literally, actually, as a stiff, cold breeze blew through the air. He grit his teeth, looking around wildly. "Shit! We need to stop coming to this park!"

From the sky, the four then saw shards of ice suddenly raining down towards them. In the next moment, a black beam of light blew through them, and Dobermon landed in front of them with Alice on his back. The blonde girl slid off, and Dobermon took a defensive stance.

"Indeed," Alice said. "You seem to be attacked here an awful lot."

As Takato's anger at Impmon fell to the side for a moment, Hirokazu released him. "What... what was that?"

Impmon then shivered, and his eyes widened. Something he was sensing seemed to greatly disturb him in that one moment. "Oh... fuck."

"ZERO FREEZE!"

Flying from the sky was twin blue beams of energy. Dobermon reared his head back, crying out, "SCHWARZ STRAHL!" and countering them with a burst of black power from his mouth.

But even as the attacks cancelled each other out, Takato knew why Impmon seemed so scared. He _knew_ that attack. He _knew_ who it belonged to.

And he _knew_ it should have been impossible to see it right then.

Seconds later, a form dropped down in front of them from above. It was, unmistakably, the fallen angel digimon known as IceDevimon. Beyond that, he was carrying someone, who hopped to the ground as IceDevimon landed.

It seemed to be someone about Takato's age, but he could see his face and hands – and probably a lot more of him underneath his clothes – was wrapped in bandages. And in his hand, was a D-Ark.

"Wh-who is that...?" Juri stammered.

"That's not possible..." Takato muttered, eyes wide. "Ruki and Renamon... they _killed_ him!"

"Oh, that look of horror is wonderful," IceDevimon said, grinning widely and baring his fangs. "Almost as wonderful as it was with that lovely young girl..."

In an instant, the implications of those words hit Takato like a load of bricks. "SHUICHON-CHAN! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HURT SHUICHON-CHAN!"

The boy with IceDevimon gave a sharp laugh. "Oh, please, Matsuda. That whole 'righteous fury' thing is so overdone."

"That... that voice!" Hirokazu shouted. "Katoki Yosuke!"

"Heh!" Yosuke chuckled, placing a hand on his hip. "You're not as dumb as I thought, Shiota."

"Katoki," Takato gasped, and then growled. "You... why would you do something like this!? How could you possibly even _be_ a Tamer, or meet up with someone like him!? Shuichon-chan is just an innocent girl! She didn't deserve any of that!"

"Please, Matsuda!" Yosuke said. "Get off your high horse. If someone as worthless as _you_ could become a Tamer, then why would it be impossible for me? At least _my_ digimon isn't a worthless bag of SHIT!"

Impmon snarled and charged forward, past Dobermon and Alice. "I'll show you worthless, jackass!"

Yosuke merely nodded to IceDevimon. Within seconds, he had struck, punching Impmon ruthlessly in the stomach. He was knocked back, right into a tree, while Takato fell to his knees, screaming in pain.

"Crying like a little bitch," Yosuke said, and then cocked his head to one side, grinning sadistically. "Glad to see some things haven't changed, eh, wittle Takato-chan?"

"You shut your trap, Katoki!" Hirokazu said. "Or else I'll shut it for you!"

"What the hell do you expect to do to me, Shiota?" Yosuke asked. "Your dumb ass just followed me around like a dog the whole school year. So if anything, you should be on your knees right now, begging me for mercy, just like the dog you are!"

"Matsuda-kun," Alice said, seemingly the only one keeping their calm. "Please, leave this place. This is not a battle you can presently win."

"A-Alice," Takato stammered, and then coughed violently. He covered his mouth, and after the coughing subsided, found blood on his hands. Just how hard was Impmon _hit?_

A quick look showed that the small demon was still slumped up against the tree he hit, and really quite out of it.

"C'mon Takato," Hirokazu said, reaching out for the Tamer. Juri was already moving to pick up Impmon. "Lets get out of here."

Takato shook his head, staring at Alice and Dobermon. "We... we can't just leave them..."

"I will protect the Shadow Tamer's life at all costs," Alice said, drawing out her D-Ark. There was an edge in her voice unlike anything before. "That is my sworn duty, and my purpose for walking among you. As such, I recommend you back down while you can still _breathe_."

"We'll see about that, baby," Yosuke spat. "GO, ICEDEVIMON!"

"Dobermon!" Alice cried, and both Adult-level digimon rushed one another.

Nearing the fallen angel, Dobermon prepared to sink his teeth right into his enemy's neck. However, IceDevimon proved quicker, grabbing Dobermon by the throat and hefting him up into the air. "Just how many digimon do you think I've killed and loaded in my lifetime?" IceDevimon asked, almost casually. "Countless Adults, and even Perfects. You, pathetic lapdog of fallen gods, ARE NO DIFFERENT!"

With that shout, IceDevimon slammed Dobermon's body into the ground with incredible force. The entire area shook violently, and Dobermon's body writhed in pain. Yet, despite all of that, Alice showed no visible signs of feeling that same pain.

"Very peculiar," IceDevimon said, looking straight at Alice. "When I fought that child and his Galgomon, every blow I inflicted upon the digimon was reflected on the human. The same went for Wendimon and his Tamer. Yet, you..." His gaze turned down, and he punched Dobermon in the snout. The digimon howled, but Alice didn't flinch. "You feel nothing."

More than that, Alice also _said_ nothing in response.

Thus, IceDevimon continued punching his opponent repeatedly.

"Alice!" Takato shouted. "You can't just stand there-!"

"Leave," she said, quietly. "Dobermon and I can't beat him. This is the only way..."

What _that_ meant, exactly, took a second to sink in. "No, Alice! You can't do that!"

"WHY!?" IceDevimon screamed, punching Dobermon again in the head. Blood and fragmented data flew from the blow, and he glared at Alice, continuing to hit the dog digimon as he did so. "WHY! WON'T! YOU! SCREAM!? Scream, girl!" He grinned madly, and grabbed Dobermon by the throat again. "Do I have to snap his neck to make you cry out in pain!? I swear, I'll make each and every last one of you who stood against me suffer until I finally hear those same sweet cries of misery from Ruki's pretty little mouth... SO SCREAM!"

Alice remained silent.

Roaring in frustration, IceDevimon dropped Dobermon back to the ground and stepped back. "So very annoying," he said, raising a claw into the air. "Lets see about this, then! FROST CLAW!"

IceDevimon drove his claw downward, across Dobermon's side... tearing it open, and letting blood and data ooze from the wound. Dobermon's ensuing howl was ear-splitting.

And Alice...

There was a long, unmoving moment of nothing.

She then shrieked wildly. The blonde girl dropped to her knees, crying madly as she clutched her side, where her school uniform was now becoming drenched in her own blood. She fell to her side, spasms of pain overtaking her senses entirely while she cried uncontrollably.

"ALICE!" Takato shouted, and IceDevimon laughed. "KATOKI! How could you let him do something like this!?"

Yosuke grinned and pointed at the Shadow Tamer. "Its all your fault, Matsuda! YOURS! You and your digimon... you brought this on yourselves!"

"I didn't do anything!" Takato screamed, staring at Alice. Her screaming hadn't stopped a bit, and in fact had gotten even worse. "To do something like this... its... its unforgivable! Making someone suffer like this is the worst thing anyone could do!"

"Like you made _me_, suffer, Matsuda!?" Yosuke shouted back. "When your little shit-bag of a digimon burned me! TURNED ME INTO THIS! ITS YOUR FAULT ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING! ICEDEVIMON!"

"Right," IceDevimon said, and looked down and the injured Dobermon. "Time to finish it. FROST-!"

IceDevimon didn't get to finish. In a flash, Impmon had removed himself from Juri's arms, was across the battlefield, and was plowing his fist into IceDevimon's jaw.

"TAKATO!" Impmon shouted back to his Tamer. "If you're really not so worthless... THEN PROVE IT!"

Takato grit his teeth and nodded, pushing away from Hirokazu and yanking his D-Ark out. Running purely on instinct that he didn't even know he had, he summoned two cards: Flame Fusion Level-One and Aura Booster. "DOUBLE COMBO!" he called out, fusing both cards into a single one. "PSI CARD SLASH! FLAME AURA!"

Flames erupted around Impmon's body, and IceDevimon screamed, falling back from the now-burning punch. Impmon landed on the ground and hopped back, thrusting his hands down. "NOW!"

"PSI CARD SLASH!" Takato screamed. "Strength Booster!"

"SUMMON!" Impmon cried, creating a portal, this time, right beneath his feet. A fireball flew up, hitting HIM and causing his Flame Aura to become even stronger and brighter. "INFERNO AURA!"

Instead of lobbing a fireball at IceDevimon, Impmon _himself_ became one and flew at his opponent. Impmon struck him right in the chest, flames erupting around IceDevimon's body and blowing him back, right over Yosuke's head. Impmon landed with a grin, and though his flames had then vanished, looked ready to continue the fight.

"Heh, well," Yosuke said, snapping his fingers. "I think that's enough for now. IceDevimon?"

"Right," the fallen angel grunted, standing up and quickly flying across Impmon's head. Before anyone could do anything, he grabbed Hirokazu before shooting higher up, and then flying back around to Yosuke.

"HEY!" Hirokazu shouted. "Lemme go!"

"Hirokazu-kun!" Juri exclaimed.

"This was just a little test run, Matsuda!" Yosuke said. "For the _real_ fun, meet me at our school at around... an hour after sunset?"

"Bastard!" Takato yelled. "Let Hirokazu go!"

"Oh, we can't have that, now," Yosuke said. "All I want is you and your little Impmon. That's it. So, just in case you decide to go tell your Tamer buddies, I've got to have _some_ insurance, right?" IceDevimon picked the bandaged teenager up, and Yosuke gave one last laugh. "See ya tonight, _buddy!_"

There wasn't time to stop them, nor did they really have the power to. IceDevimon flew off, and within moments, could no longer be seen from their position.

"This can't be happening..." Takato muttered, and looked at Alice. She wasn't screaming like she was before, but was still curled up on the ground, clutching her wound and whimpering.

_One thing at a time, I guess,_ Takato thought, and dropped down next to her. "Alice? Are you okay?"

It was a stupid question, of course.

"Ma..tsuda..kun..." she murmured, opening her tear-filled eyes.

"Its okay," he said, though his tone was uncertain. "We... Juri, Impmon and I... we'll figure something out, okay?" He wasn't sure _what_, of course.

"This is... pain," she said, and her body shook. "I- I never expected... I shouldn't feel this... I- I-..." She coughed, choking on her own sobs.

"Alice! C'mon, don't worry," Takato said, reaching out and rubbing her arm. "It'll be okay, we just need... we need a doctor! Juri!"

The brown-haired girl, standing right next to him, nodded. "Right! I'll go-!"

"You- you don't understand," Alice said weakly, "neither of you. Dobermon... he's dying... that wound is too great..." For a second, she looked almost happy, smiling as more tears streamed out of her eyes. "I guess we are... connected more than I ever believed..."

Takato looked at Dobermon. The digimon was still bleeding heavily, and his data was fragmenting all over his body. His breathing was labored and... slowing.

"He never fought back," Takato said, just then truly realizing that.

"No, it was the only way," Alice said. "We... had to protect you, Matsuda Takato... nothing else mattered..."

"Don't say that!" Takato snapped. "You matter! Dobermon matters! As long as you're both still alive, you matter, and we're not going to give up on you two that easily!"

"Alive..." Alice repeated the word sadly. "Your optimism is amusing, Matsuda-kun..."

"Alice-" he started, but was cut off as she – with whatever strength she had left - reached up and grabbed his shoulder, pulling herself into an upright position until she fell against his chest. "A-Alice..."

"Unless something could be done for Dobermon, there's no way to help," she said, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around Takato. "You're... so very warm..."

"Alice," he said, again, and then instinctively hugged her back. "No, don't even think like that... there... there has to be something!"

"I never would have thought..."

Takato, Juri, and Impmon all looked up at the interjection of a new voice. One that Takato and Juri both knew. Standing beside a tree was a very nervous-looking Kenta.

"Kitagawa-kun!" Juri exclaimed. "You... did you see everything here?"

"Just after that flying freak took Hirokazu," Kenta said slowly.

Far, far in the back of his mind, Takato thought that all he needed was for someone else to have found out about his role as a Tamer. To put someone else in danger... but Alice and Dobermon were the only concerns in his mind right then. "I don't care what Alice says," Takato said. "There has to be something we can do... Juri, go with Kenta and find some help! Please!"

"T-Takato," Kenta stammered. "Uh, that's just it."

Takato blinked, looking up.

Something was... wiggling in Kenta's coat pocket, before that something popped right out of it. It was small, pink, with blue eyes, a golden collar, wings, and a red heart on its chest.

He hadn't noticed it moments before, but in Kenta's hand, there was also a light-pink and silver colored D-Ark.

"I think MarineAngemon and I are that help."

**-To Be Continued**

**- - - - **

**Notes:** Well, this is fun.

Small changes in plans – I had originally planned a one-shot special to run between ID Phase 01 and Phase 02. That timing of that one-shot has been put off to a later date now, due to some changes in the plot line. It'll work out better for it, though... and actually allow "Inner Demons Phase 02" to come out at a decent time.

- - - -

While Ruki and Jenrya are sorting out their own issues, and Evilmon begins to make his move, Takato is tasked with his most difficult mission in his short career as a Tamer. The battle of Takato and Impmon VS Yosuke and IceDevimon begins, and from there on, everything else spirals downward...

**Inner Demons Phase 01: Rising Shadow**

**NEXT: Realization 19- "Life and Death"**


	20. Realization 19: Life and Death

**Disclaimer:** "Digimon Tamers" is the property of Bandai, Toei Animation, and Akiyoshi Hongo. Original characters and concepts are mine.

Do note that I changed some stuff in the last chapter, where Yosuke said for Takato to meet him at midnight. It's been changed to an hour after sunset.

- - - -

"K-Kenta!" Takato shouted, looking at the green-haired boy – and especially, the tiny Digimon floating beside him – in complete shock. Not only was he a Tamer, but his _Digimon_… no. That wasn't possible, was it?

There wasn't time to ponder all of that, however. There were more pressing concerns. Alice was still holding him, still bleeding, and still fading. She and Dobermon were not long for this world, and if there was any chance…

"How?" Takato asked. "If you two can help them… how?"

Kenta frowned, looking back and forth between Dobermon and Alice. "MarineAngemon, take care of the Digimon"

"Pi pu!" the tiny Digimon squeaked, and floated towards Dobermon.

Kenta, meanwhile, approached Takato, Juri, Impmon, and Alice. "Before either of you ask, I'm really not sure how I can do this," he said. "I just… know I can. Takato, lay her down."

Takato hesitated for a moment, but did as he was told, setting Alice back down on the ground. She seemed to finally be completely out of it, as she made no sounds, and her eyes were closed. If it wasn't for the fact he could still see her breathing shallowly, Takato would have thought…

No. There wasn't time. He couldn't think something like that, not then…

"Pa pei!" MarineAngemon shouted suddenly, sending out a gentle wave of red, heart-shaped bubbles into Dobermon's wound. The Digimon seemed to be in even greater pain for just a moment before the wound started to glow and start to actually heal itself.

Kenta took a deep breath, kneeling down next to Alice. "He has the easy job," the boy said. "Mine's the hard one…" He cautiously pulled up the blonde girl's shirt enough to see where the gash had opened up on her side, and she was still losing a fair amount of blood from it. "This is a lot worse than the last one..."

Juri stifled a small cry and turned away, while Takato just continued to stare at Kenta. "Just what are you..."

Kenta gave a nervous smile, gulping hard. "Y'know, I really hate the sight of blood," he said, and then reached down towards the wound. As he did so, the palm of his hand started to glow a faint pink color. Finally, his hand met the wound, and the glow increased…

The moment Kenta touched her, Alice's eyes snapped open and she screamed. It wasn't like Dobermon, however, who was well on his way to being saved. She continued to scream. Her body thrashed, and she knocked Kenta's hand away.

Alice was staring at Kenta with a touch of fear that Takato hadn't seen on her face before. She looked ready to get up and run away from him, if only not for her injury.

As quickly as she reacted, though, she settled back down, closing her eyes. "Continue," she said, though just barely.

Gulping, Kenta exchanged a brief, nervous, glance with Takato before continuing. Kenta's hands glowed again, and he tentatively touched Alice's wound. The girl's body tensed, but she did not flail again, instead digging her fingers into the dirt at her side. She tilted her head, eyes fluttering open briefly to see Takato, at whom she gave a light smile.

It was something that startled him, though he couldn't place why. All he could do was watch. He was beyond grasping or fully understanding what was going on. At that point, understanding it all didn't matter. The situation was far too dire for that.

After only moments of resisting it, Alice started screaming again from the energy being poured into her. Takato wrenched his eyes from the sight of her, feeling ashamed of the act as he did it.

He couldn't let his feelings get in the way now. Not if this was Alice's best, most immediate hope. Not with Yosuke & IceDevimon holding Hirokazu. No, now, Takato knew exactly what it was he needed to do...

- - - -

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons**

**Phase 01: Rising Shadow**

**Realization 19- **_**"Life and Death"**_

**By Infinity Blade**

**- - - -**

"I realize you're probably wondering why I'm here, Zhao-sensei," Jenrya said. He sat across from the older man at a table in the martial artist's dojo.

Zhao smiled a bit as he poured tea into a cup and handed it to the teenager. "I don't suppose it's merely to visit an old friend?"

Jenrya smiled back, accepting the cup. "Thank you. Ah, well, I suppose, but…"

"There is something else on your mind," Zhao said, taking a small sip of his own tea. "I've known you for your entire life, boy. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Jenrya stared into his drink, and then set it down, bowing his head. "Sensei, I… I'm honestly ashamed of myself. I… I…" He felt his hands shaking. Why was it so hard to come out and say anything? "I've… let you down, Zhao-sensei."

Zhao raised an eyebrow. "I find that very hard to believe, Jianliang."

Jenrya averted his gray eyes to the floor, not daring to look his teacher in the face. "I lost control of myself. My emotions. I became a monster without even realizing it, and if I hadn't been stopped, then my friends…"

Zhao's eyes narrowed, and he leaned across the table a bit. "I don't suppose this has to anything to do with whomever hurt Shaochung."

"S- Sort of…"

"And the friend of yours that's hiding in your backpack by the wall?"

Jenrya's head snapped back up, and he heard Terriermon yelp across the room. "Zh- Zhao-sensei! How…"

Zhao smiled and leaned back into his chair, looking at Jenrya's pack on the floor. "Do not treat me like I am a foolish old man, Jianliang. You can come out now."

After a bit of shuffling, Terriermon hopped out of Jenrya's backpack and jumped up onto the table, smiling sheepishly. Jenrya had _thought_ he had been doing a good job of hiding his partner Digimon up until then. Apparently, he hadn't.

"I can't very well help you if I don't know everything, after all," Zhao said. "So, Jianliang… just what _is_ the story here?"

- - - -

Alice's screams were horrible. They made Takato feel sick.

Whatever Kenta was doing seemed to be working, though. The blood had stopped, the wound was closing. It was just stomach-churning to hear it.

Kenta's brows were furrowed, sweat running down his face from his concentration. Takato had to wonder, was the ability to do something beyond empowering their Digimon something all Tamers had? Was it just, for some reason, this one boy? Or what? There was so much about being a Digimon Tamer that he had yet to understand…

Finally, Kenta pulled back, falling into a sitting position and panting heavily. He had been at it for several long, tense minutes, and it seemed to have finally pushed him to his limits. Still, when Takato looked down at Alice, he found that her wound was completely gone. And as her screams subsided, and she started to calm herself, the girl's breath returned to normal, too.

Dobermon, also, was completely healed, and only lying there to finish recovering. MarineAngemon spun around from his patient and floated over to Kenta, chirping a bunch of rapid gibberish that Takato couldn't hope to understand.

And yet, Kenta somehow did. "Heh, thanks buddy," he said, extending one finger. MarineAngemon took it in his tiny flippers, shaking it while smiling happily.

"That was amazing, Kitagawa-kun!" Juri exclaimed, staring down at the glasses-wearing boy. There were tears in her eyes, and it was obvious hearing those screams hadn't been any easier for her, but her enthusiasm was genuine.

"I just don't get it," Takato said. "How long have you been a Tamer? And why did we never know about it?"

Kenta gave a long sigh, adjusting his glasses and looking over at the Shadow Tamer. "I've had MarineAngemon since before my family moved to Shinjuku. And… well, I could ask you the same question, couldn't I? How come _I_ never knew about Impmon?"

Takato scratched his head, taking a quick look at his partner in the process. "I… I guess so. It's just kind of unreal…"

"MarineAngemon's power can heal almost anything," Kenta said. "But, he's… not very strong, actually." The little fairy pouted, almost looking insulted. "Sorry little guy, but you know it's true… we've spent most of our partnership avoiding fights like crazy. There's not much that he can do even against Adult-level Digimon So there's not exactly been any place for us to cross paths in that area, y'know?"

"But what about the Digital Field that appeared around our school?" Takato asked.

Kenta's cheeks went red and he bowed his head. "Whatever that Field did to us, when I fell out of my chair, MarineAngemon was in my pocket, and I… landed on him. Knocked him out."

MarineAngemon covered his face with his flippers, looking about ready to cry from embarrassment. Impmon, on the other hand, gave a loud laugh.

"Oh, geez!" Impmon cackled. "You're an even bigger screw up Tamer than mine is!" He walked up to MarineAngemon and grabbed the fairy with both hands, despite his squeaks of protest. "I bet I could delete you by just steppin' on you! You even _look_ weak!"

"Impmon!" Takato exclaimed, slapping the small demon's wrist and making him release MarineAngemon. "I hope you realize that even if he's not strong physically, he's still an Ultimate! And he has a Holy Ring, so with you being a demon, he could _still_ probably kick your butt!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Kenta said, frowning. MarineAngemon glared at his Tamer.

"Pu pu peh!"

"…you're calling me _what!?_"

"Um, everyone?" Juri suddenly interjected. "What about Hirokazu-kun? That… that _thing_ and Katoki have him… who knows what they're going to do to him!?"

Kenta's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Wait. Did you say_ Katoki!?_"

"Yeah," Takato said, dusting himself off and rising to his feet. Looking down, he now noticed his school jacket was covered in Alice's blood.

"Takato-kun-" Juri began, but the teenager just shook his head, taking the jacket off.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered, folding it up and kneeling back down by Alice. She seemed to have drifted to sleep, somehow, after all of that. He lifted her head up, and then set it down on the dry portion of his jacket before looking back at Juri. "Can you stay with Alice and Dobermon until they're back on their feet?"

"Su- sure," Juri nodded. "Of course I will! But… what about you?"

Takato looked back down at Alice. He had never thought about it before, but this was the first time in which her expression actually seemed… peaceful. Before, though lacking much emotion, there was something in her face that always seemed troubled. In fact, she looked rather…

He shook his head, snapping his mind out of those thoughts. There were much bigger things to be concerned about. "Katoki and IceDevimon hurt Shuichon-chan and Lopmon. They hurt Alice and Dobermon. And they've taken Hirokazu… there's really not any choice in what I need to do, is there?"

Takato looked over at Impmon, straight into his eyes. "I know you may not think much of me as a Tamer. And honestly, by now, you're really starting to annoy me. But… you're still my partner, like it or not. At the very least, can I ask you to help me out just one more time?"

Impmon gave a toothy grin. "Oh, I'm just itchin' to pay that IceDevimon bastard back. You've got it, kid."

"But Takato-kun!" Juri exclaimed. "You saw how strong he was! You've said yourself that Alice-chan's Digimon is stronger than Impmon!"

Impmon's grin faded. "He said what now?"

"Why can't you contact any of your Tamer friends?" she practically pleaded. "Like Lee-kun, or -"

"I can't."

"But -!"

"You heard him, Juri," Takato said. "If I bring anyone else, Hirokazu's as good as dead. After what he did to Alice and Dobermon, I don't doubt he'll do something, either."

"I'd like to help," Kenta said, groaning slightly as he sat back. "But... I can barely move now, after doing something like that..."

Juri stared at Takato, tears filling her eyes. "Takato... kun... you, just... you'll be okay, right?"

Takato didn't answer her, instead, he just turned back to Impmon. "Lets get going. The sun's going to set soon."

Impmon nodded fiercely, and followed his Tamer as the boy ran off, trying his best to ignore Juri's cries from behind him.

-- --

Jenrya sat back in his chair as far as he could, trying his best to not look his Sensei in the eyes. He had just explained everything to him. _Everything._ He felt more shame at that moment than he had ever felt in his entire life, and he just couldn't bring himself to look this man in the face.

"You know," Zhao said, setting his tea cup down. "I'm sure you know that saying, about 'absolute power.'"

"'Corrupts absolutely,'" Jenrya muttered.

"And it seems to me you've obtained a power far beyond almost any other human in this mortal world," Zhao said. "Between you and your friend here, your ability to protect yourself, others, and your loved ones is the greatest it could possibly be."

"But I couldn't protect my loved ones!" Jenrya exclaimed, pounding a fist on the table and making Terriermon jump in surprise, while the older man showed no reaction. "I couldn't protect Shuichon! I couldn't protect one of the people who means the most to me! And... and because of that, because I couldn't deal with that... I... I almost..."

"Even one who tries the most cannot be everywhere at once, Jianliang," Zhao stated.

"But it's because I wasn't there!"

"_No!_" Zhao shouted, slapping his palm on the table. This brought both Jenrya and Terriermon to stare at the man's determined expression. Now that he had brought himself to do that again, Jenrya couldn't look away. "The only dishonor would be to discount what you were trying to do! No man is perfect, and to expect such of yourself will only lead you to destruction, and is why you lost control of yourself in the first place!

"This world is filled with awful, horrible people. I see that from what you're fighting now more than ever. There is no possible way that you could have anticipated what happened to Shaochung. Yet, it is not your place to seek vengeance either. That will come in time, on it's own. Your duty, with your power, has not changed in the slightest."

"If we had hurt someone when we lost control..." Jenrya began.

"And yet, you did not," Zhao said. "Thanks to your friends' strength."

"I'd hardly call Ruki a friend..."

"Then, if she is the kind of woman you say she is, why wouldn't she have killed you on the spot?"

Jenrya's gray eyes widened. "Uh... I..."

"As I said," Zhao continued. "Your duty, your path, has not changed. If you can understand just _why_ it is that you lost yourself... I have faith that you will not do it again."

"Zhao-sensei..."

The older man crossed his arms, smiling slightly. "This isn't time for self-pity, my young friend. Go on, do what you must, and know that you have those that support you."

"ALRIGHT!" Terriermon shouted, leaping to his feet and pumping an arm into the air. "Lets kick some ass!"

Jenrya sighed deeply, putting a hand over his face in embarrassment, and yet smiling at the same time. "Please, don't mind him, Sensei." He then moved his hand, but kept the smile. "Thank you."

Standing up, Jenrya grabbed Terriermon, set the Digimon on his shoulder, grabbed his bag, and then took off running. "C'mon, Terriermon. We have work to do."

-- --

"So, why is it that we're here, exactly?" Renamon questioned out loud, though Ruki knew that the fox already had a good idea of the answer. The Tamer and Digimon stood atop a building overlooking the hospital in which both Lee Shuichon and Hoshi Yumi rested.

"There's just too much," the redhead muttered, holding her head. "Too many powers surging around us... you feel them, don't you?"

Renamon nodded. "But of course."

"Jenrya and Takato's power is building without them even realizing it, as if preparing for something," Ruki said. "That black power... Alice... it just surged and then nearly died out. But all of these Realizations... all of this stuff with Evilmon trying to mess with our senses... I can't track everything. It's like there are just... blank spots moving about, and yet I can't see them unless they're set against something else."

"Such as when Alice's power surged," Renamon said.

"Exactly," Ruki hisses, biting her lip in frustration. "Without seeing it, it felt like she was fighting something, and yet... it was like nothing was there. Then there was something else... someone I don't even know or recognize in the least." She gave a grunt of frustration. "This is driving me crazy, y'know?"

"So, we're here, because..."

"Everything's connected here," Ruki said. "_That_ much I can feel. I don't know if it's because of Shuichon, or this Hoshi family... but something is converging here."

"And, we haven't told Yamaki because..."

"There's nothing he can do about it," Ruki said, clenching a fist. "With Jenrya trying to get himself under control, Shuichon out of the picture, and Takato... well, that'd just be asking for trouble right now. So we just have to-"

Both the human and Digimon froze completely. Ruki couldn't even bring herself to move, or barely even _breathe._ Energy crackled out around the parameter of the hospital building, and from that spewed copious amounts of black fog which reached up and encompassed the building in an instant.

There wasn't need or time for words. Once the Digital Field had stabilized, Ruki took a leap off the building. Renamon grabbed her in mid-fall, flipping over and landing softly in the alley below. Ruki could hear people's screams, car horns blaring, and the general sound of everyone trying to flee for their lives.

As the two came to the alley's entrance, they saw something which was horrifying, to say the least. The fog of the Digital Field was literally lancing out like the tendrils of some beast, pursuing the fleeing people. Once someone was touched by the fog, they just stopped dead in their tracks, collapsing into a heap, weeping and screaming uncontrollably. And with every person that fell, the size of the Digital Field increased.

"The Nightmare Field," Ruki gasped, eyes wide.

"Evilmon," Renamon added.

Again without hesitation, Ruki took off, running into the middle of the street with Renamon following. Keeping her secret wasn't really a concern against something like this, and it wasn't like anyone still conscious was paying them any mind. The fog wall of the Field was coming towards her, but she grit her teeth and thrust her hand out. "DRAW FIELD!"

The bubble of protective energy erupted around her just in time, as the fog passed over her, while any defenseless person nearby simply fell. She forced herself to just look ahead at the building, trying to ignore the countless cries. "Dammit to hell!"

"Will we be able to move on?" Renamon asked her Tamer.

"Last time, activating my Draw Field created an immunity," Ruki said. "We just have to hope it does the same this time... at least long enough for us to move into this thing and find that little freak."

Then, there were sounds that overrode even the screams of the victims around them. It was a sound of charging energy, that of clanking metal, and of that metal being scraped across stone. From the darkness that encompassed the deeper parts of the Field came a massive figure – it was draped in a ragged, black cloak, and its body could barely even be described as such. Connected at a red glowing sphere by blue energy was a metallic torso & head, and metal arms completely completely separated from everything by the energy. In one hand was a scepter of some sort with a ram's head atop, and the creature's face itself was skeletal.

Ruki quickly pulled out her D-Ark, activating the analyzer. "MetalPhantomon," she read off the screen. "Perfect-level Digimon."

"You shall not have the chance to 'move on,' Seeing Tamer," MetalPhantomon hissed. There was a metallic twang to his voice. "Just as my brother before me, I am here to make certain that the all-encompassing nightmare is reborn to full power!"

Ruki smirked, a ball of blue light appearing in her palm. "If you're as much a pushover as Phantomon, then, I don't think we'll have much problem blowing you away! RENAMON!"

"Right!" Renamon exclaimed, running out of the Draw Field's protection.

"PSI-LINK!" Ruki shouted, slamming the energy sphere into her D-Ark. "EVOLUTION!"

"Renamon, evolve! KYUUBIMON!"

-- --

Takato looked out from the alleyway he stood in, watching the sun finally slip behind one of the high rising buildings in the distance. The city was being wrapped steadily within the blackness of night, and the teenager's pulse was quickening with every passing moment.

The alley stood across from his high school, and he waited. An hour after nightfall.

An hour before he walked straight into what he knew was a trap.

"So, uh, kid?" Impmon said. "Any idea what we're going to do to fight this freak?"

Takato bit his lip, not answering. That was the question, wasn't it? How could he beat someone who had defeated Renamon, Galgomon, Wendimon, and Dobermon? Who was now linked to someone who's life goal at times seemed to be making _Takato's_ life a living hell...

"Kid?"

Takato let out a long breath. "I don't know."

"Oh, beautiful," Impmon said. "So should we just go out there and bend over from the start? That way they can't miss when they _rape us up the assholes!?_"

Impmon's reaction wasn't unexpected. Or, Takato had realized, something he could really blame the Digimon for. Though he had been enthusiastic back at the park when Takato asked for his help, Takato knew it was just an act. Just as it was when he had tried to remain strong.

They didn't want Juri to worry.

Truth be told, Takato was scared out of his mind. He knew they really didn't stand much of a chance against IceDevimon with a Tamer. He also, of course, had no _choice._

_If only the others had told me more, _Takato thought, but stopped that train of thought quickly.

It wasn't like there had been much _time_ for them to do so, had it? Only a day after he became a Tamer, they had been confronted with IceDevimon's Digital Field. He had been useless in that battle, but who could blame him? His entire world had been flipped upside down, IceDevimon had attacked before anyone had a _chance_ to teach him anything, and it all just went downhill from there.

With Jenrya's injuries and Ruki's increased foul mood after that, Takato went blindly right into the fight with Evilmon. Then they were all so embroiled in trying to uncover the mystery behind him and the Hoshi family... There just hadn't been enough _time._

And now here Takato was, preparing for a fight that anyone else would consider suicide.

"Listen, Impmon, I know we don't stand much of a chance here," Takato said.

"No _shit_."

"But we've got to try," he said. "Alice has been protecting us for a reason this whole time. We've been protected by her, Ruki, Jen, and Shuichon this whole time! Even if I don't know how to use this power, I know I have it... I have the same power as them, so we just have to-"

"Pray?"

Takato exhaled. He looked back at the school.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

-- --

"FOX FLAME DRAGON!"

The blue,blazing dragon of fire that was Kyuubimon transformed lunged at MetalPhantomon. As its jaws opened wide, preparing to engulf the Perfect in its flaming body, MetalPhantomon quickly raised his scepter. Two burning blades of energy shot out from either end, one long, the other shorter. Giving the look of a scythe, MetalPhantomon swung at the oncoming dragon.

The impact stopped the dragon abruptly, blue flames exploding in all directions. Kyuubimon was thrown, unable to control herself, back into the street. Having no time to right herself, she hit and rolled several feet before stopping.

Ruki flinched in pain, but didn't move, instead shouting out to her partner. "Kyuubimon! Are you alright?"

"I'll live," Kyuubimon said. She hefted herself back onto all fours, looking to her enemy. "He's fast, but hits hard."

"We found out what we needed to, then," Ruki said, summoning a Psi Card to her fingers in a small flash. "Go."

Kyuubimon wordlessly obeyed and Ruki brought the card to her D-Ark.

"Psi Card Slash! SPEED BOOSTER!"

Kyuubimon vanished into a blur, and then blinked out of sight, invisible to the naked eye. Unlike most, Ruki's eyes were different. She could feel where the energy of her partner was moving, knew where she would strike. And, something else...

Brief flickers of blue flame to MetalPhantomon's left caught his eye, but before he could move there were more flickers. Behind him, before him – to all sides, blue balls of fire sat, each one with a small face that stared at him unblinkingly. "NOW!" Ruki shouted, and another cry echoed above them both.

"DEMON FIREBALL!" The flames shot straight at the Perfect, and were followed by another shout. "FOX FLAME DRAGON!"

The burning dragon was suddenly surging down at MetalPhantomon from straight above. He showed no reaction to either oncoming attack, and merely swept his scythe around, spinning his body in a circle. "SOUL PREDATOR!"

A countless number of energy blades lanced out in all directions, hitting and canceling out every fireball. The blades flew up, as well, as he swung his weapon in the dragon's direction... but the dragon blinked out of sight, and Kyuubimon reappeared was standing right in his sights as he wheeled back around to gaze at where Ruki was.

The girl was smirking.

"Fool," Kyuubimon said.

"_Excuse_ me!?" MetalPhantomon

He was answered very quickly, as a green blur slammed into his face. "DUM DUM UPPER!"

One energized punch collided into the side of his head, tossing his hood back. Galgomon held it there for a moment, sparks soaring as metal ground against metal, the ear-splitting sound of it echoing all around. He grinned, and then pulled his other gun-fist back before slamming another blow into MetalPhantomon's face.

The Perfect-level Digimon fell back flailing his arms, while Galgomon flipped back and landed next to Kyuubimon.

"Took you long enough," Ruki said, waving a hand and having her Draw Field vanish. Jenrya walked up next to her, smiling. "Though at least you answered my question about whether or not the immunity would hold."

"Nice to see you too, Ruki," Jenrya said. His gray eyes darted back to MetalPhantomon, who was starting to right himself. "Mind?"

"Oh, be my guest. Without a distraction, though,he's going to catch most attacks if he sees them coming."

"He won't catch this," Jenrya said, summoning two Psi Cards. "Ready Galgomon?"

"Always!" Galgomon cried.

"You... wretched little pests!" MetalPhantomon roared.

Jenrya fused both cards into one. "Psi Card Slash! MAXIMUM ARTILLERY!" Galgomon's gun-hands glowed, changed, and they were soon outfitted with multiple types of guns and small rocket-launchers.

"SOUL PREDATOR!" MetalPhantomon launched the volley of blades right in Galgomon's direction.

"MAXIMUM BURST!" Jenrya and Galgomon shouted together, and the Digimon unleashed all the firepower he had been granted. Torrents of bullets and rockets soared through the air, plowing through and destroying MetalPhantomon's energy blades.

The Perfect's metallic face seemed to actually contort into a look that resembled fear before the attack hit him. Hole after hole was rapidly punched into his body, showering shards of metal that exploded into bits of data all over the scene. He seemed to be trying to scream, but had lost the ability to as his body was pummeled. At last, a shot pierced his silver skull, splintering it into several pieces before his entire body blew up into fragments of red data.

Jenrya thrust his D-Ark out, crying, "DATA LOAD!" The data was thus sucked into the glowing screen of his device, and in moments, there was no longer any sign MetalPhantomon had ever existed.

"Hm, I'm impressed," Ruki said as Jenrya lowered his D-Ark. "I almost wondered if you had that in you at all."

Jenrya no longer had any sense of amusement on his face. His eyes were locked squarely on the hospital. "My sister's in there," he said.

Nothing more _had_ to be said, as all four immediately ran for the building ahead.

-- --

Takato stepped out onto the soccer field of his school. The sky was black, now. Time had passed. Not having a watch on him, he wasn't sure how _much,_ but he knew he wasn't late. He wouldn't dare be.

Impmon stood behind him. For a minute or two, he wondered if the Digimon would indeed follow him this far. He had, and at there was no turning back.

It happened quickly. A sudden gust of cold air told him they were coming, and there was a sudden burst from the sky. Like an avalanche, they appeared in a flurry of snow and ice which was completely isolated to the spot where they landed. Standing before the goal on the opposite side of the field was Yosuke & IceDevimon. Beside them was a cage of ice containing Hirokazu, who was currently yelling.

"-ME OUT OF HERE YOU BASTARDS!" came the end of a shout he had obviously started before they appeared. The teenager stopped, blinked, and looked around. "How the hell did we get..." he trailed off, eyes wide. "TAKATO! Get out of here!"

Takato wasn't entirely sure if it was bravery, stupidity, or just flat out fear that had immobilized him, but for the life of him, his feet seemed rooted in place. "Let Hirokazu go," the words came out, clear and demanding, before Takato even realized he was saying them. In truth, he was a little shocked at himself.

He could see Yosuke smirking, though couldn't make out much else from the bandages wrapped around his head. "Wow, did Takato actually grow a backbone?"

"I said let him go!" Takato shouted, and Yosuke laughed.

"Now, see, you _do_ realize how this is going to work, don't you?" Yosuke asked. "Really, I should've just killed you back at the park, but it was a _lot_ more fun to see if you actually had the balls to come this far. And I'll be _damned_, Matsuda, you actually _mildly_ impressed me."

Takato just stared at him. He didn't feel like dignifying that with a reply. Instead, he looked to Impmon. "Ready?"

"Not a chance in hell," Impmon said. "So, I guess I go out there and get my ass kicked while you hide behind your happy little bubble, right?"

Takato smiled sheepishly, despite the situation. "To be honest, I've realized I don't have a lot of control over my own power... If I spend too much energy on the Draw Field, considering I have _no_ idea, really, how to actually regulate it, I might not have enough for everything else... and if I'm going to do what I want to, I'll need to only use it when I absolutely have to."

"Ah, okay... ...wait, you mean you actually _have_ a plan!? Why didn't you tell me!?"

Takato looked back at Yosuke. "Well, maybe a little one. For a few minutes, I forgot who I was dealing with... but now I see again, and I might be able to use that to my advantage..."

"Well, if you're done with your last goodbyes," Yosuke said, "can we _please_ get on with it?"

"Yes," IceDevimon said, and smirked. "I want to see Ruki's reaction when I bring her your head on a pike."

Takato's eyes narrowed. "You're pathetic."

"I'm _what_?" Yosuke asked, and howled with laughter. "Oh, God, Matsuda, I think you're hardly one to be saying that... I don't see little Juri-chan here to protect you this time. Not that it helped earlier today, did it? Oh, but don't worry. I'll make sure to take_ good_ care of her when I'm finished here... maybe that hot little blonde number, too, if she's not dead yet."

Takato actually grinned. "Oh, Alice is just fine now." Both Yosuke and IceDevimon actually seemed surprised. "And Juri won't have anything to worry about once we're done, since you'll be running home, crying to your mommy."

Yosuke's mouth hung open, bewildered by whatever it was that had gotten into Takato. "You piece of shit! Don't say a fucking _word_ about my mother!"

"Well, I'm sure she'd be really disappointed!" Takato said. "Seeing as her son seems to get off on hurting little girls!"

Yosuke grit his teeth, removing his D-Ark from his pocket. "Alright, Matsuda, that's it! Time to stop screwing around with you... ICEDEVIMON!" IceDevimon unfolded his wings and rose into the air, silently looking down on Takato & Impmon with his crimson eyes.

Takato called on a Psi Card to appear in his hands, and he glanced back at Impmon again. "Ready _now?_"

"Well, I'd at least like to not _die_," Impmon said.

IceDevimon dove down at the Tamer and small demon, while Takato brought the card to his D-Ark. "Psi Card Slash! SPEED BOOSTER!"

Impmon kicked off the ground, rocketing unseen into the air at incredible speeds. He slammed straight into IceDevimon, pushing his fist into the fallen angel's stomach. The two of them colliding with each other at increased speeds served to Impmon's advantage, proving to greatly increase the amount of force that struck IceDevimon.

And for a moment, they seemed frozen in the air. IceDevimon gasping in pain, Impmon's smirk triumphant. That, however, was only a single moment in time.

Screaming with rage, IceDevimon raised one claw and swatted Impmon away with it. The small demon struck the earth below hard, and Takato's body shuddered with pain. The fallen angel growled audibly and then landed right in front of Takato, raising both claws. "Too easy," IceDevimon said.

"STOP!" Yosuke shouted. "Don't do it! Not yet!"

IceDevimon stopped abruptly, looking back at his Tamer, eyes narrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

"Bring him to me!" Yosuke demanded. "I want to see him _squirm._"

IceDevimon looked back down at Takato, shrugged, and grabbed grabbed the teenager by his shirt collar. He wasn't at all careful or gentle in transporting him, dragging him roughly across the dirt field. Takato trashed, but knew it was pointless. There wasn't a chance in hell he could escape from a Digimon so easily.

"There," IceDevimon grunted as he tossed Takato into the dirt at Yosuke's feet. "Happy?"

Yosuke grinned while Takato tried to get to his feet, and them promptly planted his foot in the boy's face. Blood gushed from his nose, and he fell back down, clutching his face in pain.

"Oh, quite a bit," Yosuke said. He knelt down and grabbed Takato by the hair of his head, pulling the Shadow Tamer up to look him in the face. "You see what you did to me? Do you _see _what you and your shitty little partner did to me!? All this pain... this pain that won't go away... it's all your fault! And I'm going to make you suffer, scream, _plead_ for someone to save you... but no one's coming this time! Someone else is already taking care of your little Tamer friends, poor Juri's going to be all alone and defenseless, and even _if_ that blonde bitch is alive, I'll make sure we don't fuck it up next time! It's all over, you little pussy. You get me!?"

Takato replied by spitting blood into Yosuke's face. Yosuke pounded a fist against Takato's head, letting him fall back to the ground. Takato, inexplicably, laughed. "What the _fuck_ is so funny!?" Yosuke screamed.

"A Draw Field 'counteracts all digital matter except for your own partner,'" Takato said, grinning as he quoted from his memory. Impmon suddenly blinked into sight behind Yosuke, causing him to spin around in shock.

"DRAW FIELD!" Takato shouted. The bubble of energy sprouted out around him, knocking IceDevimon away as it expanded around Takato, Yosuke, Impmon, and Hirokazu's cage.

Or, to be more exact, what _used_ to be Hirokazu's cage. It vanished as soon as the Draw Field fell over it. Yosuke didn't even have time to react as Hirokazu came rushing up to him, slamming a fist straight into his face.

Takato smiled as he started to stand up unsteadily. He was quickly supported by Hirokazu. "That's what you get for hurting my friends," Takato said.

"That so?" Yosuke said, scowling as he started to stand up, but had his legs kicked out from under him by Impmon.

"No so fast, buddy," Impmon said, and lit up some fireballs on his fingertips. He waved one in front of Yosuke's face. "I bet those bandages'd burn _real_ good."

"Think so, huh?" Yosuke asked, before suddenly thrusting a hand out and pressing it against Impmon's chest. Before the Digimon could even say anything, Yosuke's hand glowed and there was an explosion against Impmon, knocking him back into the ground. Takato gave a scream of pain and Yosuke quickly got to his feet, hand still glowing. "So, want to take a wild stab as to why I'm called the Desolation Tamer?"

Yosuke rushed at Takato and Hirokazu, hand outstretched. Hirokazu pulled Takato out of the way, and both narrowly avoided Yosuke as he rushed past, out of the Draw Field. He stopped halfway down the soccer field, where IceDevimon stood, and spun around. "That was nice, Matsuda!" Yosuke shouted. "But not good enough! So, you all just gonna sit in there until your Field runs out of juice, when we're gonna kill you anyway, or you want to come and get it over with quick!?"

"Impmon," Takato said. "We can beat them."

Impmon sat up, rubbing his chest and wincing. "Kid, I think he hit you in the head a little too hard."

"No," Takato said. He smiled. "Katoki may have completely flipped his lid, but he's still the same person he always has been. And after getting my butt handed to me by him for as long as I did, I can read him like a book. Trust me. If you think you can do that, anyway..."

Impmon eyed Takato for a long moment, and then jumped to his feet, pounding a fist into his palm. "Okay then! I don't really feel like dying tonight, anyway. Just give the word, kid."

Takato nodded, looking back out of the Draw Field at their opponents. "Good. It's time to finally get this over with."

**-To Be Continued**

-- --

**Author's Notes:** So, yeah. I pretty much dropped off the face of the earth. Life's just been hell the past half year or so, and way too busy for me to get much writing in. But, things have kind of settled a bit, and I'm back, more or less.

On the bright side, it allowed me to sit back and really organize some of my thoughts with my writing, so I think some things should flow out a bit easier now. I have some new projects in mind, here and there, including some stuff relating to Digimon Savers, but chief among them now is getting ID running along. Which it is now. So yay.

Oh, and yes, Yosuke has an awfully foul mouth. He's always been meant to, it just hasn't gushed forth like it has here yet. It's almost kind of an extension of my own mind, sadly, as I talk like a sailor in real life, and I have to hold back with most of the other characters... thus, it starts flowing like a river when I have a character where I don't have to do that.

-- --

It's the Shadow Tamer VS the Desolation Tamer, Impmon VS IceDevimon! Does Takato actually expect to win against the Digimon who has beaten down every other Tamer on the block? Or did Yosuke REALLY hit him too hard in the head?

**Inner Demons Phase 01: Rising Shadow**

**NEXT: Realization 20- "EVO"**


	21. Realization 20: EVO

**DISCLAIMER: Digimon Tamers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo.**

**-- --**

"Kenta-kun?"

Kenta raised an eyelid to Juri's voice. Finding her staring down at him, the other opened. "Yeah?"

He was still sprawled out on his back, not having yet found the strength to pull himself back to his feet. The two of them hadn't moved for over an hour. The same went for Alice and Dobermon, neither having yet woken.

"Takato-kun," she said, then paused, biting her lip. She averted her eyes and sat back out of his sight. "Do you think Takato-kun and Impmon will be okay?"

Kenta closed his eyes again. She'd said nothing since Takato left, leaving a dull silence over them. Beyond MarineAngemon's occasional chirps of boredom as he flitted all about them, there hadn't been much noise. Occasionally, he heard what sounded like people getting close to them. Luckily, they had thus avoided having to explain the ten-foot dog sleeping nearby.

The silence had kind of disturbed him. He was used to the sounds of his family's house, the constant good-natured bickering, joking, or just talking. Or the busy, crowded halls of school, the taunts from tormentors like the Kobayashi brothers. Even MarineAngemon's constant babbling in a language only he seemed to understand.

Juri's silence, though? Something about it was unnerving. He wasn't really much for socializing to begin with. With someone he barely knew, sitting there distressed over what had transpired, he felt himself kind of freezing up. It wasn't like there was anything _he_, of all people, could do about it. He couldn't find anything to say to comfort her, though. He couldn't possibly even begin to wrap his head around where he would _start._

Now, of course, she _wanted_ him to say something. He so _earnestly_ wished for his strength to surge back to him, if only so he could run and not have to face such a question.

He opened his eyes again to find her, again, looking down at him. "Well. Uh..."

IceDevimon would probably kill all of them. Seeing what he had done to Dobermon and Alice, it'd be a miracle if they even kept Hirokazu alive long enough for Takato to _get_ to them.

"I'm sure – uh, positive that they'll be fine."

It was a bad lie. He didn't even _know_ Takato that well, nor did he have a single _clue_ to how capable a Tamer he was, or what kind of strength his Digimon held.

Juri sat back. Kenta closed his eyes, praying in vain to shut everything out. If she took that lie as truth or not, he didn't know. He didn't really _want_ to know. If she didn't, then the actual truth was horrible. If she did, then the giving of what was surely false hope just made him feel like crap.

-- --

**Digimon Tamers: Inner Demons  
****Phase 01- Rising Shadow  
**_**Realization 20: "EVO"  
**_**By  
****Infinity Blade**

**-- --**

Katoki Yosuke pressed a hand against his bandaged face. Beneath them, he was scarred, burned by Takato's wretched little demon. The pain couldn't be measured against anything else he had ever felt. Every movement, every flex of his charred skin made his nerves scream.

Yet, it was dulled. The power he wielded was better than any painkiller he had back in the hospital. They all destroyed his senses, making him either a drunk at best, a vegetable at worst. After hearing the voices – the ones that woke him in the night, that no one but he could hear - and hearing what they told him about his powers... Yes, everyone at the hospital thought he had gone mad. There was talk of therapy, both physical and mental, but he couldn't have any of that...

It was as if his pain had become his power. Where before he could barely move without screaming, it now spurred him on. He felt as if he was channeling it outward, as if the act of hurting others somehow relieved his own pain.

If that was true, he was determined to pour his pain out upon everyone who dared cross him.

"MATSUDA!" Yosuke roared. Matsuda Takato still stood behind his Draw Field, along with Hirokazu and Impmon. "You're only putting it off! I promise you, if we have to blast through your stupid little Field, it's only gonna hurt more!"

Takato didn't reply right away. His expression was shockingly – to Yosuke, anyway – stoic and unwavering. Yosuke clenched the side of his own face, sending new waves of pain pulsating from both head and hand. This boy, this useless little waste of space... that he stood so defiant, now... It made him want to scream.

This was the same person who used to just sit there, so oblivious to the world around him. He was worthless. No one cared about him, cared what Yosuke did to him. Matsuda Takato was just a little nobody that barely anyone spoke to, hardly anyone _noticed._

After a number of seconds, Takato answered. "You've hurt and threatened my friends. You think, after all that, I'm just going to roll over and let you do whatever you want? I'm tired of that. I'm tired of doing that for _you._"

Yosuke guffawed. "Oh, that's rich. Your friends? _Please!_ How many of these people do you actually think are your _friends?"_ He pointed at Hirokazu, who visibly flinched. That only made Yosuke grin madly. "What about this little traitor? HAH! He was hangin' with me 'fore he decided to play nicey-nice with you! Or are you really _that_ stupid?"

Hirokazu made a move to shout back, but Takato beat him to it. "Hirokazu made a mistake! One that he's more than made up for."

"Oh, how _sweet,_" Yosuke said. "And what about little Juri-chan? So happy and nice, always coming to poor Takato-kun's rescue." He sneered a bit, but the pure, joyous smile didn't leave his face. "I bet it gets you off at night just _thinking_ that a hot piece of ass like that would want anything to do with you."

"Shut up," Takato said, though it came out more as a growl than anything else.

"What? That has to be it, 'cause you know there's no chance she'd ever do it for you herself," Yosuke said, and then gave a small chuckle. "Though, hey, y'never know, nice girls can turn out to be total whores sometimes..."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Takato screamed, looking ready to lunge out of the Draw Field himself.

"You're just a charity case for her, Matsuda, face it," Yosuke said. "Can you imagine how good she looks when she goes back to her friends and how nice she was to that poor loser? It must make her look like such a _saint_ to her bitchy little friends."

Takato was grinding his teeth, but said nothing more.

"And your fellow Tamers? Do you honestly think any _one_ of them would have anything to do with your shitass if you weren't just _so_ lucky for fate to grant you your power?" the bandaged boy asked, then scoffed. "Man, fate's a really bad joker, ain't she?"

"You don't even know the others," Takato spat.

"Oh, really?" IceDevimon spoke up. "And I suppose you _do_, child? Do you truly know anything about the Seeing Tamer, for instance? About, perhaps, all the numerous acts that my dear Ruki perpetrated while in the Digital World? The reasons why, exactly, I would want her as my Tamer?"

"No, and I don't care!" Takato said. "Like I'd believe anything a devil like you would say, anyway!"

"A devil I may be," IceDevimon said, "but a legend doesn't necessarily equal an angel, either. Yet, it matters not. Not now. You dare to battle me, after seeing all I've done to your 'friends'... You thus obviously _are_ quite stupid, and I shall be glad to help cleanse humanity's gene pool tonight."

"Yeah, well, here's the thing," Impmon said, stepping out of the Draw Field. Fireballs lit around his hand illuminated their side of the soccer field in a bright red. "You ain't fought _me_ yet, horn-head!"

"Oh, yes, of course," IceDevimon said, his voice dry and emotionless. "What ever was I thinking?"

Yosuke, however, glared at the little demon stepping out. Though he laid his blame primarily on Takato himself, Impmon was the instrument of his pain. Impmon was the one, specifically, had set him ablaze in the first place.

Through that pain, he was going to destroy the both of them.

That's what the voice had told him to do.

First, send the message.

Make the contact.

And lastly, kill them. Mercilessly, without wavering.

He would be rewarded beyond his wildest imagination. He would be a king in the coming world, answering only to one.

That voice had allowed him to move again. It had given him his power, presented him his D-Ark, and introduced him to his partner. Everything was going as he was told it was.

_Of course,_ Yosuke thought, _I'd have gladly done all this for free, anyway..._

-- --

Jenrya and Galgomon moved with – what Ruki found to be – shockingly ruthless efficiency as they approached the hospital. Jenrya had always fought when needed, but mostly held back. He would not kill if it could be avoided, and would try to find methods other than battle if he could. In their line of work, that was rarely an option, though.

Now, however, he and Galgomon were leading the charge, ripping through every single wave of Bakemon as they came flowing out of the darkness and shadows at them. There were hardly even any left for Kyuubimon to pick off after each wave came.

Kyuubimon and Ruki shared similarly concerned glances. The memory of fighting BlackGalgomon was still quite fresh. They both knew exactly what caused it. With Shuichon in such imminent danger again, they also knew the risk.

Yet, Ruki noticed, there was something determined. Galgomon's attacks were swift and ruthless, to be sure, but they held no malice. Not an ounce of hatred was exuded from either of them as Galgomon tore through enemy after enemy.

A single shell pierced the head of every oncoming ghost Digimon, enough to make each explode in data with rapid succession. One bullet per enemy. The efficiency and accuracy was almost frightening, to say the very least.

Silently, Ruki was somewhat thankful they hadn't fought the two of them while they were in _control_ of themselves. Because, unquestioningly, they were now. But, in the heat of battle, the difference between light and darkness was a very steep slope – Ruki herself knew that far too well.

_For his sister's sake,_ Ruki thought,_ if not his own, he'd better hope he can keep a lid on his emotions... In a situation like this, if they fall back to what they became before, there's going to be no choice but to kill them both..._

-- --

"Looking back at sensors for the past hour," Reika spoke, pointing to one of the windows opened on the large screen above her and Megumi's adjoined station. It was a map of the area where the new Digital Field had appeared, like the one that took up the rest of the screen, only the one in the window was _much_ smaller, encompassing only a few blocks surrounding the hospital. The time stamp on it showed it was from an hour ago. The larger map showed the Field had expanded much further since then and showed no signs of stopping. "It shows bursts of power inside the Field before we lost track of the signals... I'd say Terriermon and Renamon are certainly in their Adult stages at this point, but I couldn't possibly get anything more than that. About a block into the Field, all our signals get scrambled."

"And Takato-kun," Megumi eyed another small window in the corner. "Signals are indicating brief power surges from his general area, but we can't detect anything else. If he's fighting something, then we can't see it."

Yamaki stood behind them, silently observing everything. He was not a happy man. Not a single one of these Tamers had informed him of their actions. He expected them to go and tackle this, but it appeared from the point of Renamon's evolution that Ruki had been there since the Field's inception.

_Trust me, do you?_ Yamaki thought. He pressed a hand against an object that rested against his chest, beneath his shirt, and closed his eyes.

"How do our attempts at contact stand?" Yamaki asked.

"We've tried reaching the cell phones of those in the Field, but that's just like our signal," Reika said. "Everything's scrambled. Takato-kun, on the other hand, just doesn't have one."

Yamaki gave a small shake of his head. "Wonderful. How fast is the Digital Field expanding now?"

"It seems to be moving at a slow, but steady, pace, with a massive expansion every thirty minutes," Megumi answered, "precisely. It's very exact, just like-"

"A computer," Yamaki said. "In the end, all Digimon, Digital Fields, and the world they come from itself are like a computer program. At the base level, they're nothing more."

"What do we do, then?" Reika asked.

Yamaki mused for a moment, before opening his eyes, turning to Megumi. "How 'slow' is slow at its current pace?"

"Only a few feet per minute," Megumi said. "Each major expansion seems to multiply itself three times the length of the previous one. Although there have only been a couple so far, that seems to be it's pattern."

"Then as a program, it'll likely stick to it, unless there's a bug introduced into the system. How long since the last expansion?"

Megumi blinked rapidly, and glanced over her readings. "Three minutes, sir."

"So, twenty-seven minutes until the next one," Yamaki said. "Prediction on the size of the next expansion?"

"Roughly a mile and a half," Reika said.

Yamaki narrowed his eyes, intently gazing at the map. Specifically, the indication of the Digital Field. "In fifteen minutes, if we've not heard anything from the Tamers, we'll take action."

Both operators turned to their superior, surprise apparent on both their faces. "Action?" Megumi asked. "What are _we _supposed to do?"

Yamaki's thumb flipped up the lid of the lighter in his hand. "Simple. It's a program, so," he clicked the lighter down, "we delete it."

-- --

Takato knew he was stupid to show his anger to Yosuke. He just couldn't help himself, hearing him talk about his friends – and especially _Juri_ – in such a way. It was apparent that both of them knew how to push one another's buttons. Takato knew that if he was going to use that to his best advantage, he couldn't let it get to him, in turn.

IceDevimon stepped forward as Yosuke drew his own Draw Field up around himself. Takato frowned, looking at his own Field. It was true that he couldn't regulate his power well, and had no idea how to gague it, so he wondered how much energy he was wasting holding his protection up. He could feel himself exuding _some_ type of energy, but the sensations were still strange and new.

Another thing he needed to learn if he ever made it out of this alive.

"You know he's full of shit, right?" Hirokazu asked, breaking Takato's thought process.

Takato smiled. "Of course I do. He always has been."

And of course, he couldn't drop the Draw Field now that he had to watch over Hirokazu _anyway,_ so the point was moot.

Takato looked down at his D-Ark. He needed to figure out what to do, _now._ There was no more time to sit and wait, to mull things over. He needed to take action.

There was a roar, and he jerked his head up to find IceDevimon flying across the soccer field at Impmon. The small demon began running, and it struck Takato that the Speed Booster had already left him. He also knew that he couldn't use it again right away, so that was already one important weapon that he didn't have in his hands anymore.

"ZERO FREEZE!"

IceDevimon fired the beams from his eyes as he flew. Impmon rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding a quick, cold death. Instead, they continued soaring, striking and freezing half of a small building a short distance from the field. Takato knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that was where the gym equipment was kept.

IceDevimon flew on. He was getting close.

_Ice Fusion is useless,_ Takato thought. _Using Flame Fusion and the Aura Booster together seemed to have _some_ effect on him before, but not enough..._

"KID!" Impmon shouted, now standing still before the oncoming fallen angel. Obviously, he realized he had no chance of out-running him. "Any day now!"

He didn't have many cards at his disposal. He didn't have many, if any, strategies to ride on. All he could do was go with what he knew worked. Mostly, anyway.

Quickly drawing two cards out of thin air, Takato slid them both in rapid succession. "Psi Card Slash! Strength Booster! Darkness Fusion Level-One!"

Black power rushed up around Impmon's body, just as it had when he fought DarkLizamon. This time, however, it wasn't accompanied by a smirk – a rarity – and he merely pulled his fist back. Similarly, IceDevimon swept one claw to his side and screamed, "FROST CLAW!"

Impmon punched out at the same time, his small, energized fist meeting with a claw that was at least half his size. His fist hit the white devil's palm and brought him to a dead stop in the air, while the small demon wasn't pushed back even an inch.

There was no damage done. Neither Yosuke nor IceDevimon so much as flinched, but that he was stopped so abruptly and seemingly without effort was impressive.

Takato thought so, anyway.

Then, in that moment, he remembered Lopmon's words from the fight against DarkLizamon. Impmon had hit the flaming reptile with great force using the same card combination, but it resulted in him almost immediately using up all of his temporary power.

"Impmon!" Takato shouted. "Remember what Lopmon said-!"

"I ain't stupid kid!" Impmon shouted back, and that smirk of his finally returned. He looked up at IceDevimon, still floating in the air with his attack blocked. Impmon thrust out his free hand. "SUMMON FLAME!"

A portal ripped open just beneath IceDevimon, and a fireball launched out of it – right into IceDevimon's chest. He was knocked into the air by the impact, and screamed as the hot fires burned across his body. Yosuke gave an even worse cry, however, clutching his chest with a maddening look.

Obviously, the sensation he received was familiar.

Impmon kicked off of the ground. IceDevimon only shot up a few feet, and as he came back down, his face met with Impmon's foot. With the black energy still raging up around him, the force flipped IceDevimon around and he landed on his back. Impmon himself then came down, ramming a punch into IceDevimon's stomach.

While IceDevimon gave a shout of pain, Yosuke doubled over, glaring across the way at Takato. "Matsuda," he said, gasping. "Y'know... that works for both of us, right?" He held out a hand, and a card blinked into it. "Lemme show you how I beat the hell out of that little bitch's hairy ape..." He stood up straight, grinning as if the pain from Impmon's attacks had never been reflected onto him. "Psi Card Slash! SPEED BOOSTER!"

Both Takato and Impmon's eyes went wide as IceDevimon disappeared from where he was beneath the Child Digimon. Knowing what was coming, Takato quickly summoned two Psi Cards, fusing them together in his hands. "DOUBLE COMBO!"

He wasn't fast enough. A white blur appeared streaking past Impmon, and the small Digimon rocketed into the air. Takato's entire body was rocked with sudden pain as the blur appeared again, hitting Impmon back into the ground. Again and again the blur that was IceDevimon danced back and forth, striking Impmon several times per second, so much that he couldn't move except for where he was knocked to.

The same applied for Takato. His body was frozen with pain.

"Takato!" Hirokazu shouted.

Was this what Shuichon felt? Helpless as she watched, in horror, her Digimon being mercilessly beat within an inch of his life? Feeling that same pain bounced back to her, paralyzing her?

He wanted to fall, writhe in pain, scream... but he couldn't.

No.

He _wouldn't._ He wasn't going to just stand there and die. Blocking out everything else, narrowing his thoughts down to why he was there, the people he wanted to protect...

He forced his hands toward each other, sliding the Psi Card down his D-Ark. "Psi Card Slash!" he yelled, his pain clearly evident in the cry. "FLAME AURA!"

Flames erupted from Impmon's body just as the blur hit him. It brought IceDevimon to an abrupt stop from striking the now-burning Child Digimon, flipping over and tumbling along the dirt-covered ground. Horror filled Yosuke's eyes, clutching his arm as IceDevimon did the same, gripping where his arm was now burned with a long, black mark.

Upon doing this, Takato slumped to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Takato!" Hirokazu said, reaching down and grabbing him by the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Takato didn't want to answer him, both because he couldn't, and because he wasn't sure. The Flame Aura was still holding up, but Impmon could only stand there, trying to recover from IceDevimon's punishment. If he didn't have enough strength left to throw out another attack, Takato wouldn't be able to blame him.

The pain still wracked Takato's body. His vision had become blurry. He could see his Draw Field starting to fluctuate. And most of all, he saw the stark white figure of IceDevimon rising up with little effort, while both he and Impmon could now barely move.

"This is already gettin' old," Yosuke said, flicking another card lazily out of nowhere. "IceDevimon." He jerked his head up a bit, and IceDevimon gave a toothy, fanged smirk.

"Of course," he said, flapping his wings and rising into the air.

"Im- Impmon..." Takato stammered.

Impmon tried to move, but ended up falling down on all fours, breathing heavily. The flames still roared around him, but it didn't seem to mean anything.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Takato muttered, while mentally cursing himself. "I tried..."

"PSI CARD SLASH!" Yosuke cried. "ICE FUSION LEVEL-TWO!"

IceDevimon flapped his wings down at Impmon. "ICE AVALANCHE!"

Twin blasts of spiraling snow and ice flew from beneath the fallen angel's tattered wings, merging together and becoming one lone, raging torrent.

Impmon, body burning bright, could only look up before it struck him. After that, all Takato saw was white as the most intense pain he had ever felt in his life hit him.

Next thing he knew, he was lying on his side. Every breath became pained. He could tell his Draw Field was gone, but it only must have just dropped, as Hirokazu stood next to him, unharmed. Shock was written on his friend's face.

Lying across from Takato was Impmon. He lay in a very similar position, and it looked like his body was almost in some sort of flux. It seemed like parts of him were fragmenting and then trying to reassert themselves, not always with complete success. Numbly, Takato figured somewhere that was why he kept feeling additional spikes of new pain.

Impmon was right at death's door, and if that happened, Takato would be right behind him.

Was this it? Was this how he was going to die?

He wondered what his mother would think. What would she _do_? First her husband, then her son? She had some family in Okinawa, but she would be all by herself, for all intents and purposes...

And she wouldn't even know _why._ Would she? Yamaki was so determined to keep the truth about the Digimon from the public. Would he make up some lie about her son's death, like he had about what happened to Yosuke? Would he even _care_? Would the other Tamers? Their Digimon? Jenrya didn't even know yet Yosuke was the one that hurt Shuichon. They still needed to find Evilmon...

What of Juri, Kenta, and Alice? And Hirokazu... he was right there... unprotected, with nothing to stop IceDevimon from killing him swiftly and getting it over with...

The whole fight had been to save him, hadn't it? So, it was all in vain, if they all just died...

No protection. No one appearing at the last moment to save him. IceDevimon was about to slaughter them, and there didn't seem to be a single thing Takato could do about it...

"Ta- Takato..."

Takato's eyes went back to his partner, whose body was fragmenting more rapidly. It was only the second time he could remember the Digimon using his name. He was smiling more genuinely than Takato had ever seen in their short time together.

"I'm- I'm sorry," Impmon said, "I- I tried..."

Takato stared at him with wide eyes, which were brimming with tears from both the pain and the knowledge of what was happening... Of _everything _that had happened.

"Y'know," Takato murmured, "when I was younger, after Dad died... I focused a lot on Digimon... the fiction, the fantasy of it... I wanted to have that loyal, best friend, who I could have adventures with... who would understand me... It was silly, but it was so much better than the world around me, the world where people I loved died. Then, I met you..."

Impmon smirked despite himself. "And... everything went to shit. Great, make me feel even _better_ right now. 'Preciate that."

Takato forced his hand out from under him. The pain was enough to drive him insane, but he did it anyway. He pushed against the dirty ground and shoved himself up into a sitting position. Every nerve in his body told him to otherwise, but he grit his teeth and continued on. "N- no... I didn't have any place to know what to expect of you... but, I do know – grah – I do know that you came here with me tonight, knowing what we were facing... you've still, despite everything, stuck with me for this long... that's longer than a lot of other people... I won't – I _refuse_ to let Katoki win like this. Not when my friends are in danger..."

He saw IceDevimon swooping down for him, Impmon, and Hirokazu.

"Not when I have friends dying!"

Impmon's green eyes were wide and round as Takato rose to his feet, and a strong purple glow started emanate from his right hand.

"For whatever reason, I have this power... I have the same power as all the other Tamers... and I won't stop until I've given everything I have to protect those I care about!"

The light became a sphere in his hand, and instinct overrode everything else. He slammed it into his D-Ark, which absorbed the power, and words came to his mouth. "PSI-LINK!" He thrust the device out, surging the light towards Impmon. "EVOLUTION!"

The light engulfed Impmon's body, making IceDevimon stop in mid-flight as he, Yosuke, and Hirokazu all stared back at the sight.

"Impmon, EVOLVE!" Impmon's form changed, growing taller, more humanoid... and taller still... Momentarily, Takato felt his jaw go slack at what emerged when the light faded. Everyone else gathered had similar reactions, with a great deal of disgust in the expressions of Yosuke and IceDevimon.

"No way..." Takato was barely able to whisper before the light faded completely.

"DEVIMON!" Impmon's Adult-form cried, emerging as a perfect double to Yosuke's Partner Digimon, all except his costume being black rather than white. And, one slight other difference – wrapped around Devimon's right arm was, unmistakably, Impmon's scarf.

For a moment, Devimon just stood there, cackling madly. It was obvious that Impmon – no, Devimon was no longer in a position of nearly dying. And indeed, Takato felt like the pain he was once feeling had evaporated. He could barely even remember what it _felt_ like, aside from where Yosuke had kicked him in the face earlier. It was like the both of them had been reborn, like the previous battle had never happened.

"No," Yosuke gasped, scrambling to his feet. "No, no, no, _no, no, NO!!!_ He told me – he told me that _I_ was the one... that _we_ were the ones... all I had to do was kill you!" He beat his fists against his head, crying out in misery. "It was supposed to be me! ME!"

IceDevimon, passing through his Tamer's Draw Field, landed next to him, snarling. "Get a hold of yourself, human!" He grabbed Yosuke by the shirt and hefted him up into the air. "Quit sniveling! This worthless piece of data is still newly evolved! I've slain countless Digimon, loaded all of their data! Do you really think something like that can surpass _me_ so easily!?"

"He said – he said – said," Yosuke stammered. "It'd be a devil... a fallen angel! He might've... could've-!"

IceDevimon slapped Yosuke hard across the face. Hard enough that _his_ head jerked a bit too. He pulled Yosuke close to his face and growled loudly. "Don't have another one of your little babbling fits now. I may not be able to kill you, but I'll send you back to the hospital and let Evilmon have his way with _your _head!"

Yosuke looked horrified, and he started thrashing in IceDevimon's grip. "No, _no!_ I... I understand, just let me go!"

Takato's eyebrows perked up. _Evilmon? The hospital...? But-_

It hit him like a ton of bricks.

_Shuichon-chan!_

"Um, Takato?" Hirokazu asked, staring up at Devimon with a great deal of apprehension. "First, how'd you do that? And second... _Devimon?_ Are you _fucking serious?_"

Takato looked at his evolved partner. He couldn't explain why, but he wasn't bothered in the slightest by his partner's form. In fact, he felt oddly at ease, more so than he had been in a long time. Somehow, he knew that Devimon felt the exact same way.

Feelings, instincts that he had never known were rushing through him, as if there were a store of knowledge deep in his brain that was now bursting through him like a broken dam. He held out his D-Ark, staring up at IceDevimon, and then back down at his shadow.

He remembered the fight with Evilmon. The first one, when his Psi-energy was completely spent fighting simple Bakemon, of all things. He remembered the darkness around him shifting, flowing into his D-Ark... As he remembered, he saw IceDevimon's shadow move on its own, despite him remaining still. It was slight, not enough for anyone but him to notice, but he saw it... and saw IceDevimon grimace for reasons that were beyond his own knowledge.

Darkness seemed to be drawing itself into Takato's D-Ark, and he held out a hand. "Draw Field," he commanded, calmly. His energy had returned to him –all of it. After the Draw Field bubbled out around him, he waved a hand, willing his available Psi Cards – now also fully recharged, it seemed - to appear floating in front of him. "KATOKI!"

IceDevimon dropped Yosuke, and the bandaged teen looked back at his enemy, growling. "Yeah, you think you're the shit now, don't you?" He spat on the ground, holding out his hands. He too summoned all his cards before him, their number far greater than Takato's.

However, as Takato eyed what was available to him, he smiled. There was a new one now. His gaze shifted back to Yosuke. At the start of the fight, he thought he'd be able to read Yosuke, to get under his skin... but the fight was over before it even started. He never had a chance. Now, though, things were different...

"It seems you've truly forgotten who you're dealing with, boy," IceDevimon hissed.

"No, I know exactly what it is we're dealing with," Takato said. "Looking at everything now... we've been scared of you for no good reason."

The white devil threw back his head, a raw, uncontrollable laugh escaping his mouth. "Oh," he said as he calmed down a tad, "is that so? Perhaps you forget what I did to your 'friends,' Shadow Tamer?"

"I remember it very well," Takato replied. "I also remember all the power you had _then_ that you don't have now. Before, you wouldn't have needed a crutch like Katoki to fight someone like me!"

"_Crutch?_" Yosuke said.

Takato threw out a hand, pointing at IceDevimon. "I barely even know what I'm doing here! Before, you were able to keep five Tamers occupied, capturing one, splitting another from the group. Beating Renamon and Galgomon, and fighting Dobermon, Impmon, and Lopmon all without breaking a sweat."

All humor had left IceDevimon's face. All that was left was a growing look of contempt.

"Before, you – by all your own doing – sent the entire city into panic. _Before,_ you were a Field Controller!" Takato dropped his hand, clenching it into a fist. "But not now. If I had to take a guess, I'd say you're only even with Katoki because you have to be. He's not the one you want, is he? He's not the Tamer you came to this world for. But you know with the way you are now, you wouldn't stand a chance against a bunch of Tamers without one for yourself. You were able to beat Shuichon, I imagine, because you made her afraid, making her remember what you did to Jen... I know, because I just felt that same thing."

IceDevimon scoffed. "So, you have it all figured out, do you, boy? And I suppose you believe with your newfound revelations of the matter that you can actually defeat me?"

Takato didn't reply to him. He merely shifted his gaze briefly to Devimon. The edges of the black-clad fallen angel's mouth turned up sharply, and he gave a suddenly lunge across the soccer field.

IceDevimon made a small snarl, leaping out from the protection of Yosuke's Draw Field towards his double. The two of them met halfway between both protective barriers.

"DEATH-!"

"FROST-!"

"_**CLAW!!!"**_

**-To Be Continued**

**-- --**

**NOTES: Originally, my plans had been to finish Phase-01 before posting anymore chapters, but though it's going well, other projects have been keeping me busy, as well. So, now that I've finally gotten this chapter to a point where I like it, I'm going to go ahead and release this chapter in the meantime. Hope everyone enjoys it... especially now that Impmon has FINALLY evolved.**

**I'd have thought his Adult form would be obvious by this point, though, given who they're fighting, and Yosuke's role versus Takato. There was never a moment where I was EVER going to use something like, say... Boogeymon. Since ID's creation, Impmon's Adult form has always been planned as Devimon, and has been intended to appear against Yosuke & IceDevimon. That's been the plan since the first chapter, so that's why it's taken so long to happen.**

**Plus, Tamers is the one series where we don't always see them evolving straight to their most powerful forms every episode. I wanted to reflect that here by having the appearances of the evolved forms be gradual and always geared towards the plot. This is why Jen's been able to reach Perfect level before Takato even got Impmon to Adult – because that's how the plot ended up working. **

**Believe me, Takato's finally finished with taking people's crap. **

**-- --**

As Devimon and IceDevimon clash, Ruki, Jen, and their partners reach their destination. And with it, the truth behind Evilmon...

**Inner Demons Phase 01: Rising Shadow**

**NEXT: Realization 21- "Rebirth"**


End file.
